Abstract
Background: Menopause is characterized by ovarian failure and a drop of estrogen levels, leading to a rapid loss of muscle mass and a redistribution of body fat.
Objective: To assess the effect of time at menopause onset on lean mass quality, determined through Dual Energy X ray absorptiometry (DXA) muscle mass analysis and using the Foundation of the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) standard for sarcopenia classification.
Methods: One hundred and eleven postmenopausal women participating in a specific exercise program, aged 69.5 ± 5.5 years who underwent body composition assessment at the Densitometry Research Laboratory in the past 12 months were included. The sample was divided into two groups for statistical purposes: women who had menopause onset with 50 or less of age (Group BA; n=60) and those who had menopause onset after 50 years of age (Group AA; n=51). For the diagnosis of pre-sarcopenia through muscle quality, we first used DXA, followed by the handgrip strength test (HGS) to classify sarcopenia.
Results: Women in AA group were older, had higher body mass index (BMI) and waist-hip-ratio (A/G relation) values, and lower appendicular skeleton mass (ASM), Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB), and HGS values when compared with group BA. According to the FNIH, 56 women had pre-sarcopenia. In group BA, there was a significant inverse correlation between age and SPPB, and between BMI and ASM; with a positive correlation observed between age at menopause and HGS. In group AA, an inverse correlation was seen between BMI and ASM, with a positive correlation observed between HGS and ASM.
Conclusion: Earlier menopause had an influence on HGS while for the muscle quality, using our protocol to characterize pre-sarcopenia, there was no direct correlation with the time of menopause onset.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Oslei de Matos, Brenda C. de Castro Lenardt, Tsuani Yamaguishi, Maria C. Souza, Isabela C. de Lima, Gabriel Furlan, Camil Castelo-Branco