The Association Between Serum Zinc Levels, Conventional and Novel Anthropometric Indices in Postmenopausal Women in Montenegro - a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Hormonal disturbances that women in postmenopause face favor increased redistribution of fat into visceral compartments, leading to central obesity and related disorders. The mechanisms underlying dysregulated zinc (Zn) metabolism in individuals with obesity and related disorders remain unresolved. This study aimed to investigate the association between serum Zn levels and conventional and novel anthropometric parameters in the cohort of postmenopausal women in Montenegro. A cohort of 94 postmenopausal women (mean age 64.55 ± 8.71 years) was consecutively included. Zn determination was performed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis was used to estimate associations of demographic data, obesity-related scores, and laboratory markers with Zn tertile levels. Serum Zn levels were negatively correlated with conventional [body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)] and novel [body adiposity index (BAI), body roundness index (BRI), and cardiometabolic index (CMI)] anthropometric parameters in postmenopausal women. Although no difference in hip circumference and height across Zn tertiles was found, the BAI, as a composite index of both parameters, showed an association with serum Zn levels. Similarly, despite no difference in waist circumference across Zn tertiles, the BRI as a composite index of waist circumference and height was correlated with Zn levels. Serum Zn concentrations were positively associated with HDL-C levels, but not with other lipid parameters. The measurement of new anthropometric parameters, in addition to traditional ones, may add a contribution to the relationship between adiposity indices and serum Zn levels in postmenopausal women.