Association between body composition and perimenopausal symptom severity in Irish women.

Background

Perimenopause is associated with somatic, psychological, and urogenital symptoms that may negatively impact quality of life. Changes in body composition, including increased body fat and central adiposity, are common during midlife. While elevated body mass index (BMI) has been linked to menopausal symptom severity in postmenopausal women, limited research has focused on perimenopause. This study examined the association between body composition and symptom severity in Irish perimenopausal women.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 112 perimenopausal women aged over 40 years in Ireland. Symptom severity was assessed using the 11-item Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Anthropometric measures included BMI, waist circumference (WC), and body fat percentage (%BF). Spearman's correlations and hierarchical multiple regression models examined associations, adjusting for age, marital status, and physical activity.

Results

Median age was 48.4 years (IQR 5.2), median BMI 28.3 kg/m2 (IQR 7.1), and mean %BF was 34.9 ± 7.3%. Median MRS score was 15.0 (IQR 10.0). Overall symptom score correlated with BMI, WC, and %BF (all p ≤ 0.002). Somatic sub-scores were associated with BMI, WC, and %BF. In adjusted models, BMI, WC, and %BF predicted somatic symptoms only.

Conclusions

Higher BMI, WC, and %BF were associated with greater somatic symptom severity during perimenopause.