Association of body composition with menopausal symptoms in (peri-)menopausal women

Dissatisfaction with body image and weight gain in middle-aged women: A cross sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the relationship between weight gain and body image perception in in middle-aged women.

METHODS

Cross-sectional study with 453 women. Body image was assessed using the Stunkard scale, in which women were classified as: satisfied or dissatisfied (general, thinness or obesity). The identification of possible factors associated with body image dissatisfaction was performed using binary logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The mean age was 55.7 (±9.6) years; 80.8% were classified as dissatisfied with body image. As for body composition, women satisfied with their body image had lower values of body fat and higher values of lean mass. In the logistic regression, for general dissatisfaction and obesity, the associated variables were BMI, education and physical activity. As for "dissatisfaction with thinness", only BMI was associated.

CONCLUSION

Thus, the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction is high in women and part of associated factors are linked to lifestyle behaviors.

Obesity and Severity of Menopausal Symptoms: a Contemporary Review

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Vasomotor symptoms are frequently experienced by women during menopause and have been linked to obesity. Severity of menopausal symptoms is a distinct construct from presence of symptoms, and the relation between severity of symptoms and obesity is less established. The purpose of this brief narrative review was to summarize evidence from recent studies on associations between menopausal symptom severity and measures of obesity.

RECENT FINDINGS

Sixteen articles were identified that specifically assessed and reported on the severity of menopausal symptoms in relation to measures of obesity including body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. Most studies to date show that greater BMI, waist size, and waist-to-hip ratio are associated with greater severity of menopausal symptoms. Given the large segment of women who will experience symptoms and that severity of symptoms influences treatment decisions, future studies are needed to determine how weight management efforts may reduce the severity of menopausal symptoms.

Associations of fat mass index with hot flashes and lean mass index with insomnia in middle-aged women

OBJECTIVE

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between body composition and physical and mental symptom severity in middle-aged women.

METHODS

The first-visit records of 554 women aged 40-64 years were examined. The fat mass index (FMI) and lean mass index (LMI) were defined as fat mass and lean mass divided by the height squared, respectively. The participants were divided into two groups according to their median values.

RESULTS

The only menopausal symptom with significantly different severity between the high and low FMI groups was hot flashes (HF) on the Menopausal Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire. The factors associated with severe HF were investigated using multiple logistic regression analysis. After adjusting, the FMI (kg/m²) was independently positively associated with severe HF (odds ratio, 1.08; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.15). Insomnia was the only menopausal symptom with significantly different severity between the LMI groups (defined as Athens Insomnia Scale score ≥10 points). The factors associated with moderate-to-severe insomnia were investigated using multiple logistic regression analysis. After adjusting, the LMI (kg/m²) was independently negatively associated with moderate-to-severe insomnia (odds ratio, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.55-0.94).

CONCLUSIONS

The FMI was positively associated with severe HF, whereas the LMI was negatively associated with moderate-to-severe insomnia in middle-aged women.

Association of sleep characteristics with renal function in menopausal women without recognized chronic kidney disease

OBJECTIVE

To delineate the association between sleep characteristics and renal function in peri-post menopause free of Chronic kidney disease (CKD) as well as cardiometabolic and hormone indicators.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data from a total of 823 Han-Chinese women aged 40-67 years who visited the Menopause Clinic in the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital from November 2011 to November 2020 were analyzed through the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and serum cystatin C (Cys-C). Logistic regression models were used to assess the association between cumulative/each sleep parameter and renal function after adjusting for cardiometabolic variables.

RESULTS

After confounding factors, we identified that poor perceived sleep quality, shorter sleep duration (<6 h), low sleep efficiency (<75%), delayed sleep latency and worse sleep disturbance elevated more than doubled the odds ratio for declining renal function (≥0.91 mg/dL, the highest Cys-C) in postmenopause in a graded fashion. Meanwhile, multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that sleep disorder (PSQI ≥ 8), late postmenopause, highest quartile independently increased the odds ratio for declining renal function (OR 2.007, 95% CI: 1.408-2.861, OR = 3.287, 95%CI: 3.425-8.889, OR = 2.345, 95% CI: 1.310-4.199, respectively), while participants with menopausal hormone replacement (MHT) lower the odds of declining renal function (OR = 0.486, 95% CI: 0.324-0.728).

CONCLUSION

The findings proposed that maintaining good sleep quality should be attached great importance to postmenopausal women, which provides clinical evidence for the feasible early detection and effective prevention such as MHT of renal disease progression in postmenopausal women.

Association of lean body mass to menopausal symptoms: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

Background

The purpose of this study was to examine the association of lean body mass (LBM) to the development of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) as women transition through menopause.

Methods

This study is a secondary use of data available for public use from follow up visits six through 10 for participants in the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation. The study examined 2533 women, between the ages 42–52 years, each year over a10-year period. Data was modeled for associations of lean body mass and VMS. Changes in LBM since prior visit and since baseline were also modeled along with differences in means using binary logistic regression, adjusting for covariates.

Results

LBM was significantly associated to concurrent VMS (p = .036), percent change in LBM since prior visit (p = .003), percent change since baseline (p < .001), and overall means associations (p = .023). LBM was not significant for VMS at individual visit measures. In mixed regression modeling, time was significant (p < .0001) at all visits. The estimated probability of developing VMS decreases significantly as LBM increases.

Conclusions

Lean body mass is negatively associated with incident VMS. Our data suggests that maintaining higher levels of LBM during the menopausal transition may be protective against the development of VMS. Every woman will experience menopause in her life and the ability to potentially prevent the onset of specific symptoms through basic interventions, such as resistance training to increase lean body mass, may positively impact this large population.

Association of snoring and body composition in (peri-post) menopausal women

BACKGROUND

Little attention has been paid to whether snoring frequency is associated with body composition in menopausal women, particularly in China. This study objected to investigate the association between self-reported snoring and body composition in (peri-post) menopausal Chinese women as well as metabolic indicators.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study enrolled 715 participants aged 40-67 years from the Menopause Clinic in the Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital. Participants were categorized into four subgroups stratified by self-reported snoring frequency: never, rarely (< 1 night per week), occasionally (1-2 nights per week), regularly (≥3 nights per week), while body composition was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA). Besides, blood sample were collected to test the glycolipid indicators.

RESULTS

In our sample of investigation, regular snoring (≥3 nights per week) was found to be an independent risk factor for higher fat mass (total, upper limbs, trunk), with the highest risk of 2.4 times for fat mass of trunk after adjusting for metabolic confounders(p = 0.003). Meanwhile, regular snoring was independently associated with higher fat mass (total and each segment) only in menopausal transition (p = 0.023).

CONCLUSIONS

We suggested that self-reported regular snoring may be taken as a simple alternative to predict higher fat mass (≥17.11 kg, upper quartile) in menopausal women. Similarly, body composition should be attached to the great importance to those who in menopausal transition in order to help to prevent obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).