Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

Age-related changes in body composition and their relationship with bone mineral density decreasing rates in central south Chinese postmenopausal women

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Endocrine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to investigate the age-related changes in body composition and their relationship with bone mineral density decreasing rates (BDR) in central south Chinese postmenopausal women. BDR is the percentage of bone mineral density (BMD) decreasing value relative to the peak bone mass. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 779 healthy postmenopausal women, aged 50–77. Lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck BMD and body composition were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. In women under 65, lean mass levels showed a stable downward trend, and were significantly higher than those of the 65–70 and >70 age groups; however, the fat mass levels showed no significant difference between the age groups. After controlling for age, age at menopause, and height, both fat mass and lean mass positively correlated with BDR at the lumbar1–4 spine, the femoral neck and the total hip. When BDR at the lumbar1–4 spine was used as the dependent variable, a higher R 2 change and partial R 2 were seen in fat mass than the age, age at menopause or lean mass, indicating that fat mass was the most significant determinant of BDR at this site. When BDR at the femoral neck or total hip was used as the dependent variable, respectively, lean mass was a more significant determinant than that of fat mass. We found that with advancing age, lean mass begins to decrease in women aged over 65 years, but fat mass levels show no significant difference between the age groups. Both fat mass and lean mass positively correlate with BDR, with site-specific differences. Fat mass is the most significant determinant of BDR at the lumbar spine, whereas lean mass is the most significant determinant of BDR at the femoral neck and total hip.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

References

  1. G. Mazziotti, J. Bilezikian, E. Canalis, D. Cocchi, A. Giustina, New understanding and treatments for osteoporosis. Endocrine 41(1), 58–69 (2012)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. R.K. McCormick, Osteoporosis: integrating biomarkers and other diagnostic correlates into the management of bone fragility. Altern. Med. Rev. 12, 113–145 (2007)

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. D.W. Bates, D.M. Black, S.R. Cummings, Clinical use of bone densitometry: clinical applications. JAMA 288, 1898–1900 (2002)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. NIH Consensus Development Panel on Osteoporosis Prevention Diagnosis, and Therapy, March 7–29, 2000: highlights of the conference. South Med. J. 94, 569–573 (2001)

  5. D.T. Felson, Y. Zhang, M.T. Hannan, J.J. Anderson, Effects of weight and body mass index on bone mineral density in men and women: the Framingham study. J. Bone Min. Res. 8, 567–573 (1993)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. H.S. Glauber, W.M. Vollmer, M.C. Nevitt, K.E. Ensrud, E.S. Orwoll, Body weight versus body fat distribution, adiposity, and frame size as predictors of bone density. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 80, 1118–1123 (1995)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. T. Douchi, S. Yamamoto, T. Oki, K. Maruta, R. Kuwahata, H. Yamasaki, Y. Nagata, Difference in the effect of adiposity or bone density between pre- and postmenopausal women. Maturitas 34, 261–266 (2000)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. L.J. Melton III, S.E. Gabriel, C.S. Crowson, A.N. Tosteson, O. Johnell, J.A. Kanis, Cost-equivalence of different osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporos. Int. 14, 383–388 (2003)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. I.R. Reid, Relationships between fat and bone. Osteoporos. Int. 19, 595–606 (2008)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. L.J. Zhao, H. Jiang, C.J. Papasian, D. Maulik, B. Drees, J. Hamilton, H.W. Deng, Correlation of obesity and osteoporosis: effect of fat mass on the determination of osteoporosis. J. Bone Miner. Res. 23, 17–29 (2008)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. J.A. Kanis, L.J. Melton 3rd, C. Christiansen, C.C. Johnston, N. Khaltaev, The diagnosis of osteoporosis. J. Bone Miner. Res. 9, 1137–1141 (1994)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. B.L. Riggs, L.J. Melton 3rd, Involutional osteoporosis. N. Engl. J. Med. 314, 1676–1686 (1986)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Consensus development conference: diagnosis, prophylaxis, and treatment of osteoporosis. Am. J. Med. 94, 646–650 (1993)

    Google Scholar 

  14. M.E. Arlot, E. Sornay-Rendu, P. Garnero, B. Vey-Marty, P.D. Delmas, Apparent pre- and postmenopausal bone loss evaluated by DXA at different skeletal sites in women: the OFELY cohort. J. Bone Miner. Res. 12, 683–690 (1997)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. S. Gnudi, E. Sitta, N. Fiumi, Relationship between body composition and bone mineral density in women with and without osteoporosis: relative contribution of lean and fat mass. J. Bone Miner. Metab. 25, 326–332 (2007)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. S. Li, R. Wagner, K. Holm, J. Lehotsky, M.J. Zinaman, Relationship between soft tissue body composition and bone mass in perimenopausal women. Maturitas 47, 99–105 (2004)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. X.G. Cheng, D.Z. Yang, Q. Zhou, T.J. Zhuo, H.C. Zhang, J. Xiang, H.F. Wang, P.Z. Ou, J.L. Liu, L. Xu, G.Y. Huang, Q.R. Huang, H.S. Barden, L.S. Weynand, K.G. Faulkner, X.W. Meng, Age-related bone mineral density, bone loss rate, prevalence of osteoporosis, and reference database of women at multiple centers in China. J. Clin. Densitom. 10, 276–284 (2007)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. L.T. Ho-Pham, N.D. Nguyen, T.Q. Lai, T.V. Nguyen, Contributions of lean mass and fat mass to bone mineral density: a study in postmenopausal women. BMC Musculoskelet. Disord. 11, 59 (2010)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. G. Martini, R. Valenti, S. Giovani, R. Nuti, Age-related changed in body composition of healthy and osteoporotic women. Maturitas 27, 25–33 (1997)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. L.H. Cui, M.H. Shin, S.S. Kweon, K.S. Park, Y.H. Lee, E.K. Chung, H.S. Nam, J.S. Choi, Relative contribution of body composition to bone mineral density at different sites in men and women of South Korea. J. Bone Miner. Metab. 25, 165–171 (2007)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. S. Lim, H. Joung, C.S. Shin, H.K. Lee, K.S. Kim, E.K. Shin, H.Y. Kim, M.K. Lim, S.I. Cho, Body composition changes with age have gender-specific impacts on bone mineral density. Bone 35, 792–798 (2004)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. M.K. Karlsson, K.J. Obrant, B.E. Nilsson, O. Johnell, Changes in bone mineral, lean body mass and fat content as measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry: a longitudinal study. Calcif. Tissue Int. 66, 97–99 (2000)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. S.H. Cohn, A. Vaswani, I. Zanzi, J.F. Aloia, M.S. Roginsky, K.J. Ellis, Changes in body chemical composition with age measured by total-body neutron activation. Metabolism 25, 85–95 (1976)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. S. Gillette-Guyonnet, F. Nourhashemi, S. Lauque, H. Grandjean, B. Vellas, Body composition and osteoporosis in elderly women. Gerontology 46, 189–193 (2000)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. D. Nakaoka, T. Sugimoto, H. Kaji, M. Kanzawa, S. Yano, M. Yamauchi, T. Sugishita, K. Chihara, Determinants of bone mineral density and spinal fracture risk in postmenopausal Japanese women. Osteoporos. Int. 12, 548–554 (2001)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. R. El Hage, C. Jacob, E. Moussa, R. Baddoura, Relative importance of lean mass and fat mass on bone mineral density in a group of Lebanese postmenopausal women. J. Clin. Densitom. 14, 326–331 (2011)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. M.A. Petit, T.J. Beck, J. Shults, B.S. Zemel, B.J. Foster, M.B. Leonard, Proximal femur bone geometry is appropriately adapted to lean mass in overweight children and adolescents. Bone 36, 568–576 (2005)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  28. Z. Zhang, X. Shen, H. Zhang, S. Li, H. Zhou, X. Wu, Z. Sheng, E. Liao, The relationship between body composition and fracture risk using the FRAX model in central south Chinese postmenopausal women. Clin. Endocrinol. (Oxf.) 77(4), 524–530 (2012)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. J.M. Grodin, P.K. Siiteri, P.C. MacDonald, Source of estrogen production in postmenopausal women. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 36, 207–214 (1973)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. P.K. Siiteri, Adipose tissue as a source of hormones. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 45, 277–282 (1987)

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. I.R. Reid, R. Ames, M.C. Evans, S. Sharpe, G. Gamble, J.T. France, T.M. Lim, T.F. Cundy, Determinants of total body and regional bone mineral density in normal postmenopausal women—a key role for fat mass. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 75, 45–51 (1992)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. T. Kameda, H. Mano, T. Yuasa, Y. Mori, K. Miyazawa, M. Shiokawa, Y. Nakamaru, E. Hiroi, K. Hiura, A. Kameda, N.N. Yang, Y. Hakeda, M. Kumegawa, Estrogen inhibits bone resorption by directly inducing apoptosis of the bone-resorbing osteoclasts. J. Exp. Med. 186, 489–495 (1997)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. A.V. Schwartz, Diabetes mellitus: does it affect bone? Calcif. Tissue Int. 73, 515–519 (2003)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. M.D. Kontogianni, U.G. Dafni, J.G. Routsias, F.N. Skopouli, Blood leptin and adiponectin as possible mediators of the relation between fat mass and BMD in perimenopausal women. J. Bone Miner. Res. 19, 546–551 (2004)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. K.M. Thrailkill, C.K. Lumpkin Jr, R.C. Bunn, S.F. Kemp, J.L. Fowlkes, Is insulin an anabolic agent in bone? Dissecting the diabetic bone for clues. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 289, E735–E745 (2005)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. J. Cornish, I.R. Reid, Effects of amylin and adrenomedullin on the skeleton. J. Musculoskelet. Neuronal. Interact. 2, 15–24 (2001)

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. K. Ağbaht, A. Gürlek, J. Karakaya, M. Bayraktar, Circulating adiponectin represents a biomarker of the association between adiposity and bone mineral density. Endocrine 35, 371–379 (2009)

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. F. Elefteriou, S. Takeda, K. Ebihara, J. Magre, N. Patano, C.A. Kim, Y. Ogawa, X. Liu, S.M. Ware, W.J. Craigen, J.J. Robert, C. Vinson, K. Nakao, J. Capeau, G. Karsenty, Serum leptin level is a regulator of bone loss. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 9, 3258–3263 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. J.A. Pasco, M.J. Henry, M.A. Kotowicz, G.R. Collier, M.J. Ball, A.M. Ugoni, G.C. Nicholson, Serum leptin levels are associated with bone mass in nonobese women. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 86, 1884–1887 (2001)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. T. Thomas, B. Burguera, L.J. Melton 3rd, E.J. Atkinson, W.M. O’Fallon, B.L. Riggs, S. Khosla, Role of serum leptin, insulin, and estrogen levels as potential mediators of the relationship between fat mass and bone mineral density in men versus women. Bone 29, 114–120 (2001)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. L.M. Ritland, D.L. Alekel, O.A. Matvienko, K.B. Hanson, J.W. Stewart, L.N. Hanson, M.B. Reddy, M.D. Van Loan, U. Genschel, Centrally located body fat is related to appetitive hormones in healthy postmenopausal women. Eur. J. Endocrinol. 158, 889–897 (2008)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. K. Oshima, A. Nampei, M. Matsuda, M. Iwaki, A. Fukuhara, J. Hashimoto, H. Yoshikawa, I. Shimomura, Adiponectin increases bone mass by suppressing osteoclast and activating osteoblast. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 331, 520–526 (2005)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. I.R. Reid, Relationships among body mass, its components, and bone. Bone 31, 547–555 (2002)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  44. J.A. Cauley, J. Robbins, Z. Chen, S.R. Cummings, R.D. Jackson, A.Z. LaCroix, M. LeBoff, C.E. Lewis, J. McGowan, J. Neuner, M. Pettinger, M.L. Stefanick, J. Wactawski-Wende, N.B. Watts, Effects of estrogen plus progestin on risk of fracture and bone mineral density: the Women’s Health Initiative randomized trial. JAMA 290, 1729–1738 (2003)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. R. Lindsay, J.C. Gallagher, M. Kleerekoper, J.H. Pickar, Bone response to treatment with lower doses of conjugated estrogens with and without medroxyprogesterone acetate in early postmenopausal women. Osteoporos. Int. 16, 372–379 (2005)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. G. Mazziotti, M. Gola, A. Bianchi, T. Porcelli, A. Giampietro, V. Cimino, M. Doga, C. Gazzaruso, L. De Marinis, A. Giustina, Influence of diabetes mellitus on vertebral fractures in men with acromegaly. Endocrine 40(1), 102–108 (2011)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. C. Torti, G. Mazziotti, P.A. Soldini, E. Focà, R. Maroldi, D. Gotti, G. Carosi, A. Giustina, High prevalence of radiological vertebral fractures in HIV-infected males. Endocrine 41(3), 512–517 (2012)

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported grants from the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 81000361, No. 81070246), the Ministry of Education of People’s Republic of China (No. 20090162120050), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province, China (No. 2009RS3014), the Chinese Postdoctoral Foundation (No. 20090461010, No. 201003512) and the Science Foundation of Central Higher School Foundation of China (No. 20101220044).

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Metabolism and Endocrinology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 139 Renmin-Zhong Rd, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, People’s Republic of China

    Hongbing Zhang, Shuang Li, Zhimin Zhang, Lingqing Yuan, Hui Xie, Houde Zhou, Xiyu Wu, Zhifeng Sheng & Eryuan Liao

  2. Binjiang Hospital, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University, 1511 Jiangnan Avenue, Hangzhou, 310051, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China

    Hongbing Zhang

  3. Department of Emergency, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, People’s Republic of China

    Xiangping Chai

Authors
  1. Hongbing Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. Xiangping Chai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shuang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  4. Zhimin Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  5. Lingqing Yuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  6. Hui Xie
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  7. Houde Zhou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  8. Xiyu Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  9. Zhifeng Sheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  10. Eryuan Liao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhifeng Sheng.

Additional information

The authors H. Zhang, X. Chai, and S. Li contributed equally to this work.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhang, H., Chai, X., Li, S. et al. Age-related changes in body composition and their relationship with bone mineral density decreasing rates in central south Chinese postmenopausal women. Endocrine 43, 643–650 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-012-9833-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-012-9833-6

Keywords

Profiles

  1. Hui Xie View author profile