Testosterone may have role in visceral fat distribution in women going through menopausal transition

Testosterone may play an important role in the distribution of visceral fat — an independent predictor of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease — in women during the transition into menopause, according to data from the SWAN study.

“Of all the factors we analyzed that could possibly account for the increase in visceral fat during this period in a woman’s lifetime, levels of active testosterone proved to be the one most closely linked with abdominal fat,” Imke Janssen, PhD, assistant professor of preventive medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, said in a press release.

Because little is known about how hormonal changes are related to the increase in visceral fat during the menopausal transition, Janssen and colleagues set out to determine the relationship between bioavailable testosterone and visceral fat in women during various stages of the menopausal transition.

The study included 359 women (47.2% black) aged 42 to 60 years. The researchers measured visceral fat with CT scans and used blood tests to assess levels of testosterone and estradiol.

Data from multivariate analysis models indicated bioavailable testosterone was associated with visceral fat — independent of age, race, total body fat percentage and other CV risk factors.

In addition, bioavailable testosterone was a stronger predictor when compared with estradiol and was similar in the strength of association with sex hormone–binding globulin.

“As bioavailable testosterone was associated with visceral fat even after adjusting for insulin resistance, this suggests that it plays an important role in regional fat distribution,” the researchers wrote. “Our findings may have direct implications in explaining the effect of menopause-related testosterone predominance on visceral fat accumulation and subsequent CV risk.”

Janssen I. Obesity. 2009;doi:10.1038/oby.2009.251.