Comparison of metabolic risk factors, lipid indices, healthy eating index, and physical activity among premenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women
Published Online: Mar 27, 2024
Page range: 260 - 271
Received: Sep 16, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rjim-2024-0012
Keywords
© 2024 Leila Moradi et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Introduction
In this study, we aimed to compare metabolic risk factors, lipid indices, healthy eating index, and physical activity among premenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, a total of 4,732 women participating in the Hoveyzeh Cohort Study were placed into three groups of premenopausal (n=736), menopausal (n=396), and postmenopausal (n=917) women, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria .
Results
The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 43.3%, 55.6%, and 62.8% in premenopausal, menopausal, and postmenopausal women, respectively. After menopause, the prevalence of hypertension (50.2%), dyslipidemia (61.2%), diabetes (37.7%), and abdominal obesity according to the Iranian guidelines (75.9%) was higher than before menopause. Based on the results, cardiovascular disease had the highest prevalence after menopause (23%). The weight-adjusted waist index (WWI) had the highest odds ratio (OR) among indices, with values of 2.94 and 1.93 in menopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively (P<0.001). According to the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015), the total consumption of fruits, vegetables, seafood, and protein was higher in premenopausal women than in postmenopausal women, and the consumption of foods containing sugar was higher in menopausal women than in premenopausal women. The results showed that the level of physical activity was the highest and the lowest in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively (P<0.001).
Conclusion
Menopause leads to an increase in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome. The Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP), Triglyceride Glucose (TyG) index, WWI, and physical activity index increased in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women. The TyG index, WWI, and HEI-2015 did not show significant differences between the groups, based on the multiple regression analysis.