Relative contribution of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing effect of adipose tissue to bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

Aim: To investigate the relative contributions of weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing effects of adipose tissue to bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women. Material and Methods: The subjects were 228 postmenopausal women aged 50–75 years. Age, years since menopause (YSM), height, body weight, and body mass index were recorded. Trunk fat mass, body fat mass, bilateral leg BMD and lean (muscle) mass were measured by whole body scanning with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The relationships of BMD to trunk and body fat mass were investigated using uni- and multivariable analyses. Results: The amount of trunk fat mass and body fat mass were 8.7 ± 3.6 kg and 19.0 ± 5.9 kg, respectively. On Pearson's correlation test, right leg BMD was positively correlated with trunk fat mass (r = 0.268, P