The effect of menopause on regional and total body lean mass.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the effect of menopause on regional and total body lean mass.

METHODS

Evaluation of 123 healthy premenopausal women (40.6 +/- 10.8 years) and 123 healthy postmenopausal women (61.8 +/- 7.5 years). All subjects were right side dominant. Regional (head, bilateral arms, trunk, and bilateral legs) and total body lean mass were measured using whole-body scanning by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Baseline characteristics including age, height, weight, and menopausal state were recorded. These variables were compared between pre- and postmenopausal women. In all subjects, correlations between regional or total body lean mass and baseline characteristics were investigated using univariate and multiple regression analyses.

RESULTS

Height, and lean mass of the trunk, bilateral legs and total body were significantly lower in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women, while lean mass of the bilateral arms did not differ between the two groups. On univariate regression analysis, bilateral arms lean mass was positively correlated with height (P < 0.001). Trunk, bilateral legs, and total body lean mass were inversely correlated with age and menopausal state (P < 0.001), but were positively correlated with height (P < 0.001). After adjusting for age and height, trunk lean mass was still correlated with menopausal state (P < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Menopause induces lean mass loss, independent of aging and height. Trunk lean mass is more prone to decline with menopause than lean mass of other sites.