Relationship between body composition and bone mineral density of the lumbar spine and proximal femur: influence of years since menopause

Abstract

Objectives. To investigate the relationship between the body composition and regional bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women according to years since menopause (YSM).

Methods. A total of 167 postmenopausal women with a mean age of 62.91 ± 5.09 years participated in this cross-sectional study. The average YSM was 11.96 ± 6.28 years. We used the DXA Lunar Prodigy Primo^™ device to assess the body composition parameters [body fat mass (BFM) and lean body mass (LBM)] and the BMD of the lumbar spine, proximal femur and total body.

Results. The LBM was a stronger predictor of the proximal femur BMD than BFM in 1–10 YSM category, whereas the BFM was a stronger predictor of the proximal femur BMD than LBM in 11–20 and 21–30 YSM categories. The BMD of the lumbar spine showed a similar trend. A significant relationship was found between BMD of L₁–L₄ and LBM in 1–10 YSM category (r = 0.26; p < 0.05). BFM was significantly associated with BMD of L₁–L₄ in 11–20 YSM category (r = 0.25; p < 0.05). Significant relationships were found between total femur BMD and LBM in 1–10 YSM (r = 0.27; p < 0.05) and 11–20 YSM category (r = 0.25; p < 0.05). BFM was significantly associated with total femur BMD only in 11–20 YSM category (r = 0.40; p < 0.05).

Conclusion. The relationships between BMD and body composition are dependent on YSM and vary between selected segments.

Keywords:

• Bone tissue
• Body fat mass
• Lean body mass
• Menopause

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the volunteers who participated in this research study.

Funding

This research was supported by grants IGA FTK_2012_025 (The influence of isokinetic strength on bone tissue of proximal femur in postmenopausal women) and FTK_2011_014 (Evaluation of bone tissue of the proximal femur in women with different level of physical activity).

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest.