Covariation of Change in Bioavailable Testosterone and Adiposity in Midlife Women

OBJECTIVE To determine whether menopause-related changes in reproductive hormones were associated with change in adiposity and whether these relationships were independent of important covariates. METHODS Annual assessments of adiposity measures [computed tomography-assessed visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue (SAT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry-assessed total body fat (TBF)] over 4 years from an ancillary study at the Chicago site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) were paired with reproductive hormones collected by SWAN. Included were 243 women (44% African American, 56% Caucasian) who were eligible participants in a population-based cohort with a 72% participation rate. RESULTS VAT increased by 3.8% annually, and SAT increased by 1.8% per year. Change in bioavailable testosterone was significantly positively associated with changes both in VAT and in SAT but was not related to change in total body fat. The associations were independent of age, race, physical activity, smoking, baseline TBF, baseline bioavailable testosterone, and change in TBF. Change in estradiol was unrelated to changes in any adiposity measure. CONCLUSIONS Bioavailable testosterone may play an important role in menopause-related redistribution of visceral and subcutaneous fat in the central abdominal region.