Association between muscle mass, fat, hormone levels, and risk factors for osteoporosis

Posted January 31, 2023

In order to investigate whether body composition parameters and follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol levels may influence the risk for osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, a team of researchers from the INCT Hormona team at Hospital das Clínicas de Porto Alegre conducted a study with 139 women.

According to the researcher Tayane Muniz Fighera, the team assessed biorepository samples from postmenopausal women with no clinical evidence of cardiovascular disease. “In this study, we analyzed bone mass and body composition, which would the amount of fat and muscle mass, in addition to hormones related to ovarian function,” she commented. According to the article, inclusion criteria were: menopause occurring after 40 years of age and no use hormone therapy in the past three months.

The results showed that appendicular lean mass, ie, the sum of lean tissue in the arms and legs, may be a significant independent predictor against low body mass in postmenopausal women. “When body fat, hormone levels, and muscle mass are analyzed together, we perceive that muscles seem to have a predominant role in having osteoporosis or not,” Dr. Fighera explains. However, the expert highlights that further studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

The full version of the article “Associations between bone mass, hormone levels, and body composition in postmenopausal women” is available at: https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/Fulltext/9900/Associations_between_bone_mass,_hormone_levels,.120.aspx