The incidence of metabolic syndrome increases with progression through menopause as testosterone progressively dominates the hormonal milieu
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This longitudinal 9-year study was based on the hypothesis that the incidence of metabolic syndrome increases with progression through menopause, the increase being ascribed to the progressive androgenicity of the hormonal milieu. A total of 949 participants of five ethnicities from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation were recruited. They were free of diabetes mellitus at baseline, had never taken hormone therapy and reached menopause during the study. By final menstruation, 13.7% of the women had new-onset metabolic syndrome. Odds of developing metabolic syndrome were 1.45 per year in perimenopause, and 1.24 after menopause, the difference between these odds reaching statistical significance. These odds were increased by an increase in bioavailable testosterone and/or a decrease in sex hormone-binding globulin levels. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome increases, independently of aging and other important covariates such as BMI, as testosterone progressively dominates the reproductive hormonal milieu during the menopausal transition.
Abstract
