Abstract
Plasma hormone concentrations are closely linked to lipid metabolism, which may be affected both positively and negatively by the hormones. These changes may occur in the context of a different endocrine disorder (prolactinoma, growth hormone deficiency, acromegaly, thyroid disorders, hypogonadism, polycystic ovary syndrome etc.) or dur-ing the administration of various hormones in different clinical indications (hormone replacement ther-apy in menopause, hormonal contraceptives or androgen deprivation ther-apy).
Dyslipidaemia seen in prolactinomas, growth hormone deficiency, male hypogonadism, polycystic ovary syndrome, androgen deprivation ther-apy or oestrogen deficiency may contribute to an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular dis-ease. An adequate causal treatment is always the first step.
If this does not lead to amelioration of the dyslipidaemia, start-ing an appropriate lipid-lower-ing ther-apy after evaluat-ing the individual cardiovascular risk should be considered.