Menopause, as signified by 12 months of amenorrhea, marks the end of female fertility(1). The perimenopausal stage preceding this event, is frequently symptomatic, with previous research suggesting that a higher body mass index (BMI) may be associated with more severe menopausal symptoms(2). Changes to body composition have also previously been linked to the decline in hormones that accompany this midlife transition(3). This cross-sectional, observational study aimed to shed light on this underexplored area in Ireland.

Approval was granted by the Technological University of the Shannon Research Ethics Committee. A convenience sample of perimenopausal women (>40 years old) were recruited via social media and workplaces. Participants self-reported their symptom severity using the previously validated Menopause Rating Scale (MRS)(4). Psychological, somatic, and urogenital symptom categories were rated from 0 (no symptoms) to 4 (very severe symptoms), with a potential maximum score of 44. An overall score and a sub-score for each of the 3 symptom categories was generated. Participants self-identified their perimenopausal stage (early or late) based on descriptions of the STRAW+10 criterion(5). A range of anthropometric measurements were taken including height, weight, waist circumference (WC) and body fat (BF) percentage (using TANITA MC-580 tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance scales). Following descriptive analysis, Spearman’s correlation coefficient was utilised to test the relationship between MRS and anthropometric measurements.

Participants (N = 112) had a mean age of 48.05±3.48 years, a mean WC of 95.2±16.9cm, a mean BF percentage of 34.9±7.3. Prevalence of healthy, overweight, and obesity BMI amongst participants was 29%, 36% and 36% respectively, with a mean of 29.0±6.6kg/m2amongst the sample. Overall mean MRS symptom score was 15.3±6.9. There was a positive correlation between participant’s overall symptom rating and, their BF percentage (r =0.30, P = 0.001), WC (r = 0.30, P = 0.002), and BMI (r = 0.31, P = 0.001). This relationship was also observed in the symptom sub-score categories. Somatic sub-score positively correlated with BF percentage (r = 0.24, P = 0.010), WC (r = 0.31, P<0.001) and BMI (r = 0.31, P<0.001). Urogenital sub-score was similarly positively correlated to all 3 anthropometric measurements, BF percentage (r = 0.24, P = .010), WC (r = 0.24, P = 0.011), and BMI (r = 0.23, P = 0.014). Psychological sub-score was correlated positively with BF percentage (r = 0.23, P = 0.015) and BMI (r = 0.21, P = 0.026), but not WC.

The findings from this study suggest that a higher BF percentage, WC and BMI may be associated with a more symptomatic perimenopausal stage. Further studies are warranted to further explore this, and how to target interventions.