Determinants of body mass index in women around menopause attending menopause clinics in Italy.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE To analyze determinants of body mass index (BMI, kg/m2) in women attending menopause clinics in Italy. METHODS Eligible for the study were women attending a network of first-level outpatient menopause clinics in Italy for general counselling about the menopause or treatment of menopausal symptoms. Women observed consecutively during the study period were eligible. A total of 49 122 women (mean age 54 years) entered the study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The mean BMI increased slightly with age, being 25.8 (standard deviation, SD 4.8) in women aged < 50 years and 26.3 (SD 4.6) in those aged 57 years or more. This trend was statistically significant also after taking into account the potential confounding effect of menopausal status. The mean BMI was higher in less educated women (27.2, SD 5.1) than in those with high-school education or a university degree (25.0, SD 4.5) (p < 0.05), in non-smokers (26.4, SD 4.9) than in smokers (25.4, SD 4.5), in never-users of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) (26.3, SD 4.9) than in ever-users of HRT (25.4, SD 4.4) and in women self-reporting no physical activity (26.5, SD 4.9) than in those reporting regular physical activity (24.9, SD 4.2). The BMI was higher in women following a surgical menopause than if it was spontaneous (p < 0.05), but there was no difference between the mean BMIs of premenopausal women and those with a spontaneous menopause. Women with diabetes and hypertension had a higher BMI. There was no relation between history of osteoporosis/osteopenia and BMI.