Appendicular Muscle Mass is Lower in Late‐ Compared to Early‐perimenopausal Women

Abstract

OBJECTIVEThe age‐related decline in skeletal muscle mass (i.e. sarcopenia) and bone mineral density (BMD; i.e. low bone mass, osteoporosis) contribute to physical disability in older women. Although menopause‐related loss of BMD is well documented, whether menopause influences muscle mass and sarcopenia is unclear. We determined the extent to which appendicular lean mass (ALM) and BMD differ across the stages of menopause in healthy women.METHODS145 women (aged 30–70 years) classified as premenopausal (Pre; regular menstrual cycles; n=30, 38±6yrs; mean ± SD), early perimenopausal (Eperi; > 2 cycles with cycle length changes of ≥7 days; n=31, 50±3yrs), late perimenopausal (Lperi; ≥2 but <12 months of amenorrhea; n=30, 50±4yrs), early postmenopausal (Epost; ≤5 yrs since menopause; n=26, 55±3yrs), or late postmenopausal (Lpost; >5 yrs since menopause; n=28, 62±4yrs) were enrolled. Dual‐energy x‐ray absorptiometry (DEXA) was used to assess ALM (kg/m2), BMD, total body lean mass, and fat mass.RESULTSALM was lower (p<0.05) in Lperi and Lpost compared to Eperi with no significant differences between other groups (Pre, 6.6±0.6; Eperi, 6.8±0.8; Lperi, 6.1±0.8; Epost, 6.5±1.1; and Lpost, 6.2±0.9 kg/m2). The prevalence of sarcopenia (ALM ≤5.67 kg/m2) was 7, 3, 30, 27, and 32% in Pre, Eperi, Lperi, Epost, and Lpost, respectively. BMD tends to be lower (p=0.05, both) in Lperi and Epost compared to Eperi, and was lower (p<0.05) in Lpost compared to Eperi (Pre, 1.108±0.100; Eperi, 1.164±0.104; Lperi, 1.092±0.100; Epost, 1.088±0.107; and Lpost, 1.045±0.113 gm/cm2). There was a consistent increase in total fat mass and decrease in total lean mass from Pre to each subsequent stage (both, p<0.05 for Pre vs. Lpost).CONCLUSIONIn addition to the menopause‐related decline in bone mass, the menopause transition appears to be a vulnerable period for the loss of skeletal muscle mass that may begin during the late perimenopausal transition. Potential mechanisms underlying menopause‐related loss of muscle mass such as estrogen receptor signaling and protein metabolism should be explored in future studies.Support or Funding InformationNIH R01AG049762, R01AG027678, R56HL114073, P30DK048520, P50HD073063, NCATS Colorado CTSA UL1TR001082, and Eastern Colorado VA GRECCThis abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.