Serum Follicle-Stimulating Hormone Levels are Associated with Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Post-Menopausal Korean Women

Abstract

Menopause compounds many cardiometabolic risk factors through endogenous estrogen withdrawal. This study aimed to find the association between serum follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and cardiometabolic risk factors in post-menopausal Korean women. A total of 608 post-menopausal women from eight randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials on menopause during the year 2012–2019 were analyzed. Cardiometabolic risk factors such as body mass index, waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), and TG/HDL-C ratio were significantly improved as the FSH quartiles increased. Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and the number of components of MetS decreased as FSH quartiles increased. In regression analysis, FSH level was negatively associated with cardiometabolic risk factors including body mass index, body weight, waist circumference, fasting glucose and TG, while it was positively associated with HDL-C. The odds ratio of MetS in the first quartile of FSH was 2.682 compared with that in the fourth quartile of FSH in a logistic regression model. Serum FSH levels had a negative correlation with cardiometabolic risk factors in post-menopausal Korean women, suggesting that a low FSH can be a predictor for cardiovascular disease in post-menopausal women.

A low follicle-stimulating hormone level is a protective factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in older men aged over 80

“…Prior data investigating FSH in metabolic diseases, including NAFLD, have primarily focused on postmenopausal women [10][11][12][13][14]. Indeed, FSH is more often measured and concerned in females, and postmenopausal women have higher metabolic risks than premenopausal women.…”

“…For example, lower testosterone levels were associated with an increased risk of NAFLD in men [7,8], and estradiol is reported to be one of the protective factors for NAFLD in healthy men [9]. Recently, the roles of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in metabolic diseases (obesity, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease), which are closely related to NAFLD, have been gradually revealed [10][11][12][13]. Consequently, the connection between FSH and NAFLD was also observed in postmenopausal women.…”

Circulating miR-21-5p, miR-146a-5p, miR-320a-3p in patients with atrial fibrillation in combination with hypertension and coronary artery disease

“…У представительниц ЕС высокие значения АП, соответствующие неудовлетворительной адаптации ССС и срыву адаптации, ассоциированы со значительно сниженными концентрациями ФСГ и ЛГ, что подтверждается отрицательными связями уровней данных гормонов с показателями АП. Исследования последних лет показывают, что низкие уровни ФСГ могут быть биомаркером риска ССЗ [20], а также могут увеличивать вероятность развития кардиометаболического риска и метаболического синдрома у женщин в постменопаузе [21].…”

Associations of reproductive factors with postmenopausal follicle stimulating hormone

“…These results lend support for the hypothesis that actions of FSH may in part underlie observed relations of reproductive factors with diabetes. Emerging evidence suggests that in postmenopausal women, high FSH levels may be associated with lower risk of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome and T2D [ 1 , 3 – 9 ]. In a previous analysis in the KIHD population, we found that each 1 IU/L increase in FSH was associated with a 1.9% lower prevalence of diabetes at baseline [ 1 ].…”

“…Recent studies have shown that postmenopausal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) may be inversely associated with prevalence of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women [ 1 – 9 ]. Findings from these studies suggest that postmenopausal FSH may be predictive of future cardiovascular disease risk.…”