China: A recent study in the journal Menopause has found a positive relationship between the later age of menopause and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It was suggested that body mass index (BM) partially mediated the association between age at menopause and glucose status and suppressed the association between age at menopause and HOMA-β.
Kun Wang, Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Jiangning Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China, and colleagues conducted the study with the objective to examine the association between age at menopause and T2DM), and whether this association is mediated by BMI in postmenopausal Chinese women in a cross-sectional study.

The study enrolled 4,279 postmenopausal women. The association between age at menopause and T2DM were estimated using binary logistic regression. The relationships between age at menopause and fasting plasma glucose (FPG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2hPBG), homeostasis model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA)-IR, and HOMA of ß-cell function (HOMA-ß) was evaluated using a multiple linear regression model. Mediation analysis was performed to investigate whether these associations were mediated by BMI.
Based on the study, the following findings were revealed:
After full adjustment, women with a later age of menopause (>54 y) were more likely to have T2DM (odds ratio =1.401) than those in the reference group (4453 y).
After multiple adjustments, each 1-year increase in the age at onset of menopause was associated with a 0.021 mmol/L increase in FPG, 0.048 mmol/L increase in2hPBG, and 1.540 decreases in HOMA-ß, but no changes in HOMA-IR.
Later age of menopause was associated with overweight/general obesity (odds ratio = 1.416).
BMI partially mediated the association between age at menopause and FPG and 2hPBG, and the proportion of the effect was 5.42% and 7.69%, respectively.
BMI suppressed the association between age at menopause and HOMA-ß, and the proportion of the suppressing effect was 9.54%.
"The later age of menopause was positively related to T2DM," wrote the authors. "The association between age at menopause and glucose status was partially mediated by BMI which also suppressed the association between menopause and HOMA-ß. Prospective studies are warranted to confirm this association."
Reference:
Zhao, Yijing MS; Wang, Su MS; Yang, Yu PHD; Cao, Wen PHD; Chen, Kun PHD; Wang, Kun PHD Mediation effect of body mass index on the association between age at menopause and type 2 diabetes mellitus in postmenopausal Chinese women, Menopause: May 2022 - Volume 29 - Issue 5 - p 590-598 doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001946