The association study of body composition and hormone levels with glucose, lipid and bone density in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women

Abstract

Abstract With the aging population, understanding the factors influencing metabolism-related diseases in women during perimenopause and postmenopause is crucial for developing effective prevention and management strategies. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between body composition, hormone levels, age, and metabolism-related diseases in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. A total of 773 women aged 40 to 54 years were included in the study. Data on serum hormone levels, blood lipids, blood glucose, anthropometric indexes, and bone density were collected and analyzed using ANOVA. Differences between perimenopausal women (Peri-M) and postmenopausal women (Post-M) or different age groups were compared, and the relationships among these factors were examined. The prevalence of cardiovascular and skeletal diseases was higher in Post-M compared to Peri-M (15.05% vs 8.29% and 41.75% vs 23.28%, respectively) (P < 0.05). Post-M women showed significantly elevated levels of Total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL), along with decreased bone density compared to Peri-M (5.12 ± 0.73 vs 4.79 ± 0.82; 2.91 ± 0.67 vs 2.67 ± 0.74; 1.03 ± 0.15 vs 1.12 ± 0.14; 0.86 ± 0.11 vs 0.90 ± 0.13). In the Peri-M group, estradiol (E2) negatively correlated with TC (r1=-0.084), while age positively correlated with TC (r2 = 0.091); neither were associated with LDL, T-value of 2–4 lumbar spine (T1), or T-value of femoral neck (T2). Conversely, in the Post-M group, E2 negatively correlated with TC and LDL (r1’=-0.256, r3=-0.178), and positively correlated with T1 and T2 (r4 = 0.265, r5 = 0.275); age positively correlated with TC and LDL (r2’=0.231, r3’=0.152), negatively correlated with T1 (r4’=-0.218), and was not correlated with T2. E2 and age were independent predictors of metabolic indexes. Notably, the correlation coefficients of E2 and age with TC during the postmenopausal period were significantly higher than in the menopause transition period (P < 0.05). The increased prevalence of cardiovascular and skeletal diseases is closely associated with estrogen deficiency and chronological aging. The interaction between E2 and age in lipid and bone metabolism may contribute to the development of postmenopausal metabolism-related diseases. Early initiation of primary prevention therapy may offer substantial biological and clinical benefits to postmenopausal women.