Perimenopause, body fat, metabolism and menopausal symptoms in relation to serum markers of adiposity, inflammation and digestive metabolism

Background: Perimenopausal women gain weight that may alter inflammatory status, endocrine equilibrium, and the intensity of vasomotor symptoms. Objective: To measure serum levels of markers related to adiposity, inflammation/angiogenesis and digestive metabolism and correlate them with body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), metabolic parameters and menopausal symptoms (assessed with the 10-item Cervantes Scale [CS-10]). Methods: Serum of perimenopausal women (n = 24), STRAW stages-2 and -1, was analyzed using the Bio-Plex 200 System technology to assess 30 proposed analytes. The MetS was defined by the American Heart Association criteria and women were divided as: normal BMI (NBMI), excessive BMI (EBMI), and EBMI with MetS (EBMI–MetS). Results: Weight, BMI, abdominal circumference, WHR, systolic blood pressure, glucose and triglyceride levels were significantly higher and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) was lower in EBMI-MetS women compared to NBMI ones. Insulin, C-peptide, resistin, adipsin, GIP, leptin, IL-6, FGF21 and PAI-1 levels were significantly higher and ghrelin and IGFBP-1 lower in EBMI–MetS women as compared to NBMI ones. Spearman’s correlation of pooled data showed a significant positive correlation between abdominal perimeter and WHR and C-peptide, insulin, adipsin, resistin, leptin, PAI-1 and FGF21 and a negative correlation with IGFBP-1 levels. Total CS-10 scores and hot flush intensity did not differ between studied groups, yet positively correlated with anthropometric values but not with studied analytes. Conclusion: Perimenopausal women with EBMI and the MetS showed an altered metabolic profile, but no differences in menopausal symptoms which also did not correlate with changes in studied biomarkers.