THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN BODY MASS INDEX AND BODY COMPOSITION (FAT MASS PERCENTAGE) WITH MENTAL HEALTH IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Abstract

Obesity is a worldwide health problem and is associated with mental health. Significant changes in body composition and increased risk of central obesity are linked to menopause in women. By 2030, the number of postmenopausal women is expected to rise to 1.2 billion compared to 467 million in 1990. A cross-sectional study examining the association between body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), fat mass percentage (FM%) and mental health on 92 postmenopausal women was conducted. It was hypothesized that a higher BMI, WC, or FM% will be positively associated with a higher score of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Women’s Health Questionnaire (WHQ). Participants were asked to complete the WHQ and HADS to self-report feelings of anxiety, depression, and other postmenopausal symptoms. Participants were divided into BMI, FM%, and WC categories and outcome variables of HADS and WHQ were performed using one-way ANOVAs. Pearson correlation coefficients were also performed to examine the relationship between age, years post menopause, BMI, FM%, and WC with all subsections of the WHQ and HADS questionnaires. . A t-test was performed between two BMI groups (<25 normal and >25 overweight/obese) with the HADS and WHQ questionnaires to determine if a significant difference exists between groups and questionnaires The mean age of participants was 54.780 ± 3.767, average years post menopause was 3.241 ± 1.732, average BMI was 27.577 ± 5.800, average height was 161.973 ± 12.146, average weight was 160.131 ± 38.034, average WC was 97.603 ± ix 16.911 and average hip circumference (HC) was 104.262 ± 15.600. The correlation test presented a positive and significant relationship between BMI and WC (p<0.001), FM% and WC (p = 0.043), and FM% and BMI (p = 0.006). There was a negative relationship between WHQ vasomotor score and age (p = 0.048), and age with WHQ total score (p= 0.039). Significant difference was observed between FM% groups and WHQ total score (p = 0.020). Women in super obese FM% group higher mean WHQ total score (0.350) than women in the morbidly obese (0.241) and obese (0.347) categories. Significant difference was observed between FM% and WHQ depression score (p = 0.038). Women in super obese FM% group higher mean WHQ total score (0.324) than women in the morbidly obese (0.168) and obese (0.251) categories. Significant difference was observed between WC and WHQ sexual behavior score (p= 0.028) and WHQ attractiveness score (p = 0.016). Women in >92 and <104 cm (0.586) had higher WHQ sexual behavior score than women in ≤ 92 cm (0.461) and ≥ 104 cm (0.343) groups. Women in the ≥ 104 cm category had higher mean WHQ attractiveness score than women in >92 and <104 cm (0.241) and ≤ 92 cm (0.517) groups. There was no significance detected in the equal variances t-test of BMI groups, normal (<25) and overweight/obese (≥25) with years post menopause, age, the HADS questionnaire, and WHQ questionnaire. Significance was detected between BMI groups and WC (p <0.001) and FM% (p = 0.043). The results indicate that as a postmenopausal woman ages, there was a decrease in severity of menopausal symptoms. The findings reinforce the need for more research into the association between mental health and other post-menopausal symptoms in relation to BMI, FM% and WC.