Age-related declines in skeletal muscle mass (i.e., sarcopenia) contribute to physical disability in older women. Although a menopause-related increase in fat mass is well documented, whether menopause influences muscle mass and sarcopenia is unclear. We determined the extent to which skeletal muscle mass differs across the stages of the menopause transition in women and whether these differences are associated with estradiol or other sex hormones. This was a cross-sectional study of 144 healthy women (aged 30-70 yr) classified as premenopausal [n = 30, 38 ± 6 yr (means ± SD)], early (n = 31, 50 ± 3 yr) and late (n = 30, 50 ± 4 yr) perimenopausal, and early (n = 26, 55 ± 3 yr) and late (n = 27, 62 ± 4 yr) postmenopausal. Appendicular lean mass (ALM) adjusted by the square of height in meters (ALM index; ALMi) was assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. ALMi was lower (P < 0.05) in late perimenopausal and postmenopausal compared with early perimenopausal, with no significant differences between other groups (premenopausal 6.6 ± 0.6, early perimenopausal 6.8 ± 0.8, late perimenopausal 6.1 ± 0.8, early postmenopausal 6.5 ± 1.1, and late postmenopausal 6.2 ± 0.9 kg/m2). The prevalence of sarcopenia (ALMi ≤ 5.67 kg/m2) was 7%, 3%, 30%, 27%, and 32% in premenopausal, early and late perimenopausal, and early and late postmenopausal groups, respectively. ALMi measured across menopause stages was inversely correlated to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH; r = -0.28, P = 0.003) but not to estradiol (r = 0.088, P = 0.34). The menopause transition appears to be a vulnerable period for the loss of skeletal muscle mass that may begin during the late perimenopausal transition. Future studies are necessary to investigate the potential effect of FSH on skeletal muscle.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Our data suggest that the late perimenopausal stage may be a vulnerable period for the loss of skeletal muscle, potentially related to elevations in FSH.
Keywords: follicle-stimulating hormone; menopause; muscle mass; sarcopenia.