title: The effect of the menopausal transition on body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors:  a Montreal-Ottawa New Emerging Team group study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Cardiovascular disease is the first cause of mortality in women in North America. The risk of cardiovascular disease increases sharply after middle age in women, especially after menopause. The aim was to investigate changes in body composition and cardiometabolic profile throughout the menopausal transition.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a 5-year observational, longitudinal study on the menopausal transition. The study included 102 premenopausal women at baseline (age, 49.9 ± 1.9 y; body mass index, 23.3 ± 2.2 kg/m). Outcome measures include menopause status, body composition by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (total fat mass [FM], trunk FM, and total fat-free mass), waist circumference, visceral and abdominal subcutaneous fat, fasting glucose and insulin levels, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, plasma lipid levels (triglycerides, total cholesterol, and high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol), and resting blood pressure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Repeated-measure analyses revealed significant increases for FM, percentage FM, trunk FM, visceral fat, plasma fasting glucose, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (0.05 > P < 0.01) and a significant decrease for plasma glucose levels after follow-up. Those who were in perimenopause or postmenopause by year 3 of the study showed a significant increase in visceral fat (P < 0.01) compared with baseline. Despite some significant changes in the metabolic profile among the menopause statuses, the women did not show any cardiometabolic deterioration by the end of the study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that changes in body composition and fat distribution can occur in nonobese women as they go through the menopausal transition. However, these changes were not accompanied by cardiometabolic deteriorations in the present study.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Abdulnour
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Doucet
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brochu
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.forename: Irene
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Strychar
authors.forename: Rémi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rabasa-Lhoret
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Prud'homme
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose; D001823:Body Composition; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000378:metabolism*; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL / Q000097:blood*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D050152:Intra-Abdominal Fat / Q000378:metabolism*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008593:Menopause / Q000378:metabolism*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D011792:Quebec; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D008076:Cholesterol, HDL