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The differential relationship between fat mass and bone mineral density by gender and menopausal status

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Abstract

Osteoporosis and obesity are important public health problems in an aging society. We investigated the differential impacts of fat on bone mineral density (BMD) according to gender and menopausal status. We analyzed the baseline data of an ongoing observational cohort study, including a total of 502 healthy subjects 20–88 years of age (144 men, 159 premenopausal women, 199 postmenopausal women). Body composition and fat mass were measured using computed tomography and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). BMD was measured at lumbar spines using DXA. In men and postmenopausal women, there was no significant correlation between fat and bone parameters after adjusting for age and body weight. However, in premenopausal women, BMD had significant negative correlations with waist circumference, total fat area, subcutaneous fat area, appendicular fat mass and percentage fat mass after adjusting for age and body weight. Furthermore, only in premenopausal women, the subjects with the highest quartile of percentage fat mass had the lowest BMD even after adjusting for confounding factors including age, body weight, physical activity, alcohol use and smoking history. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that percentage fat mass was a significant negative decisive factor for BMD in premenopausal women. Our study showed the differential relationship between fat mass and BMD according to gender and menopausal status. Only in premenopausal women did fat mass have a significant negative effect on bone mass. This result suggests the importance of reducing fat mass in order to achieve peak bone mass in young adult women.

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Acknowledgments

Dr. K.M. Choi was supported by the Mid-Career Researcher Program through an NRF grant funded by the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology and by the Korean government (No. R01-2007-000-20546-0). Dr. K.M. Choi and Dr. S.H. Baik were supported by the Brain Korea 21 Project of the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development, Republic of Korea (A102065-1011-1070100).

Conflict of interest

The authors have no financial statements or conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, 80 Guro-dong, Guro-gu, Seoul, 152-703, Korea

    Hye Jin Yoo, Sae Jeong Yang, Kang Il Lim, Sei Hyun Baik, Dong Seop Choi & Kyung Mook Choi

  2. Department of Biostatistics, Sungshin Women’s University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Korea

    Man Sik Park

  3. Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Inje University, Busan, Korea

    Tae Nyun Kim

  4. Division of Physical Education, Department of Sports Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Korea

    Hyun Joo Kang

  5. Department of Physical Education, Health and Exercise Science Laboratory, Institute of Sports Science, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Wook Song

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  1. Hye Jin Yoo
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Correspondence to Kyung Mook Choi.

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Yoo, H.J., Park, M.S., Yang, S.J. et al. The differential relationship between fat mass and bone mineral density by gender and menopausal status. J Bone Miner Metab 30, 47–53 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-011-0283-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00774-011-0283-7

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