J Bone Metab.  2022 Aug;29(3):175-183. 10.11005/jbm.2022.29.3.175.

Roles of Follicle-Stimulating Hormone on Bone Metabolism in Late Postmenopausal Women

• Jeong C
• Kim J
• Lim Y
• Ha J
• Kim MK
• Kwon HS
• Song KH
• Kang MI
• Baek KH

• KMID: 2533667
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.11005/jbm.2022.29.3.175

Abstract

Background
The effects of elevated follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels on physiological changes in the bone remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify the association between FSH concentrations and bone mineral density (BMD) and bone turnover markers (BTM) in late postmenopausal women.
Methods
A total of 169 Korean women were enrolled. The participants’ ages ranged from 60 to 84 years (mean age, 69.0±5.1) and reported a mean duration of 19.4±6.6 years since menopause (YSM). The participants showed an average body mass index (BMI) of 24.4±2.8 kg/m². Age, YSM, estradiol, testosterone, and BMI were confounders in the Pearson's partial correlation. A test for trends across the quartiles of FSH levels was performed for each variable.
Results
The mean FSH and estradiol concentrations were 61.5 IU/L and 2.9 pg/mL, respectively. Serum FSH concentration was not significantly associated with BMD (lumbar, r=0.09, P=0.30; total hip, r=0.00, P=0.96; and femoral neck, r=0.05, P=0.62). BTM across the FSH quartiles did not show any trend association (bone-specific alkaline phosphate, P=0.31; crosslinked C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen, P=0.90). Instead, FSH levels were negatively correlated with BMI (r=-0.34, P=0.00). In the multivariate regression model adjusted for age, testosterone, and estradiol, only BMI showed a negative value across the FSH quartiles (β coefficient -0.11, P=0.00).
Conclusions
This study identified that high FSH concentrations were not associated with bone loss or high bone turnover in women in the late postmenopausal period.

Keyword

Body mass index; Bone density; Follicle stimulating hormone; Postmenopause