Early decrease in lean mass and bone mass in postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

Objective

The effect of menopause transition in body composition was evaluated in a cross-sectional study.

Method

The study was carried out in an outpatient clinic of Brazil enrolling premenopausal (n = 64) and postmenopausal (n = 42) women aged between 44 and 52 years, with weight stability (±2 kg) for at least 6 months before evaluation. Participants answered a sociodemographic semi-structured questionnaire, the Menopause Rating Scale, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, 24-h dietary recall and a visual analogue scale of appetite. Blood biochemical, anthropometry and densitometry measurements were used for body composition estimation.

Results

Most participants were overweight (31.4%) or obese (45.7%) and categorized as ‘high active’ in physical activity (65.7%). Lean mass and bone mass decreased in the first few years of menopause. A metabolic turn to an increase of lipids was observed, represented by greater total cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels. Menopause transition did not alter body fat distribution. Total body fat, android fat and gynoid fat were positively related to smoking habit, and android fat was also positively related to waist circumference.

Conclusion

Taken together, early postmenopause can be considered a time window of opportunity for preventing ailments such as atherogenic profile, obesity, increased cardiovascular risk and osteoporosis.

绝经后女性瘦体重含量和骨量早期减少：一项横断面研究 摘要

目的:通过横断面研究评价绝经过渡期对体成分的影响。

方法:该研究在巴西的一个门诊进行, 纳入了年龄在44 - 52岁之间的绝经前(n=64)和绝经后(n= 42)女性, 在评估前体重稳定(±2 kg)至少6个月。 参与者回答了一份半结构化的社会人口调查问卷、更年期评定量表、国际体育活动问卷、24小时饮食回顾和视觉模拟食欲量表。 血生化、人体测定和骨密度测定用于估算身体成分。

结果:大多数参与者超重(31.4%)或肥胖(45.7%), 被归类为“身体活跃”(65.7%)。 在绝经早期, 瘦体重含量和骨量减少。 代谢转变为脂质增加, 表现为总胆固醇和高密度脂蛋白水平升高。 绝经期转变不会改变机体脂肪分布。全身脂肪、男性型脂肪和女性型脂肪与吸烟习惯呈正相关, 男性型脂肪也与腰围呈正相关。

结论:综上所述, 绝经早期可以被认为是预防动脉粥样硬化、肥胖、心血管风险和骨质疏松等疾病的一个时间窗口。

Keywords:

• Body composition
• climacteric
• dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan
• menopause

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all of the researchers from the Climacteric and Menopause Research Group. Additionally, they would like to express deepest gratitude to the participants for their time and patience throughout this study.

Potential conflict of interest

The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa e Eventos (FIPE) – Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA, Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil); and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Brazil).