Exploring the link between number of years since menopause and metabolic syndrome among women in rural China: a cross-sectional observational study

Abstract

The aim of this article was to explore the link between postmenopausal status according to years since menopause (YSM) and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS). This survey was conducted from January 2012 to August 2013. A total of 6022 women (3511, 58.3% were post-menopause) from Rural Northeast China were randomly selected and examined. The prevalence of the MetS was significantly higher in postmenopausal women (Post-MW) than in premenopausal women (Pre-MW) (55.0% vs. 33.1%, p .001). The risk for MetS in Post-MW increased with the number of YSM, reaching the peak level in the 5- to 9-year group (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.23–1.96), and then decreased. The 5- to 9-year group had the highest risk of high glucose (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.20–1.83) and high triglycerides (adjusted OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.53–2.41) whereas the risk for abdominal obesity, high BP, and low HDL-C was not significantly associated with the number of YSM. These findings suggested that, in China, Post-MW with 5–9 YSMs had the highest risk of MetS. YSM can be a useful screening tool to identify women at high risk for MetS.

Chinese abstract

探索中国农村妇女绝经年数与代谢综合征之间的关系：一项横断面观察研究

摘要

本文的目的是探讨与绝经后年龄（YSM）有关的更年期状态与代谢综合征（MetS）患病率之间的关系。本次研究于2012年1月至2013年8月进行。随机抽取和调查了来自中国东北农村地区的6022名女性（3511例, 58.3%为绝经后）。绝经后妇女（Post-MW）MetS的患病率显着高于绝经前妇女（Pre-MW）（55.0% vs 33.1%, P <0.001）。 MW后MetS风险随着YSM数量的增加而增加, 在5-9岁组达到峰值水平（OR, 1.55; 95%CI, 1.23-1.96）, 然后下降。 5至9岁组高血糖（OR, 1.48; 95％CI, 1.20-1.83）和高甘油三酯（调整OR, 1.92; 95%CI, 1.53-2.41）风险最高, 而腹部肥胖, 高血压和低HDL-C的风险与YSM数量无显著相关性。这些发现表明, 在中国, 具有5-9个YSM的绝经后妇女具有最高的MetS风险。 YSM可以成为识别MetS高风险女性的有用筛查工具。

关键词: 代谢综合征; 患病率; 绝经后妇女; 绝经前妇女; 绝经年数

Keywords:

• Metabolic syndrome
• prevalence
• postmenopausal women
• premenopausal women
• years since menopause

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Yonghong Zhang, Liying Xing, and Guowei Pan for their assistance.

Disclosure statement

There are no financial or non-financial competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the “Twelfth Five-Year” project funds (National Science and Technology Support Program of China, Grant #2012BAJ18B02) and Science and Technology Program of Shenyang, China, Grant #17-230-9-06.