Stages of menopause and abnormal lung function: a cross-sectional study of middle-aged women

Whether hormonal changes during menopausal transition postmenopause stages influence pulmonary function is not clearly understood. We evaluated the association between each stage of menopause and the prevalence of abnormal lung function in healthy middle-aged women. We hypothesized that the prevalence of abnormal lung function would increase from the late menopausal transition stage during menopausal transition postmenopause stages.

The study population included women 40 to 65 years of age who underwent comprehensive health screening examination at the Kangbuk Samsung Hospital Total Healthcare Centers from January 2015 to December 2017. Stages of menopause (premenopausal, early menopausal transition, late menopausal transition, and postmenopausal) were defined using the 2011 Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop (STRAW + 10) criteria. Abnormal lung function was defined based on spirometry as forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity less than70% or forced vital capacity less than 80% predicted. Prevalence ratios (PRs) for abnormal lung function by stages of menopause were estimated from logistic regression models adjusted for age, anthropometric measurements, lifestyle factors, medical history, lipid and inflammatory biomarkers, and reproductive factors.

Among 43,822 participants, there were 4,615 participants (10.5%) with restrictive ventilatory disorder and 653 participants (1.5%) with obstructive ventilatory disorder. The fully adjusted PRs (95% confidence interval) for abnormal ventilatory disorder comparing early menopausal transition, late menopausal transition, and postmenopausal stage to premenopausal stage were 1.01 (0.94-1.08), 1.13 (1.03-1.22), and 1.10 (0.98-1.22), respectively. The fully adjusted PRs for restrictive ventilatory disorder comparing early menopausal transition, late menopausal transition, and postmenopausal stages to premenopausal stage were 1.02 (0.94-1.11), 1.18 (1.06-1.30), and 1.15 (1.00-1.31), respectively. There was, however, no clear association between stages of menopause and obstructive ventilatory disorder.

In this large study of middle-aged women, the fully adjusted prevalence of abnormal lung function, particularly that of restrictive ventilatory disorder, was higher in women in late menopausal transition and menopausal stages compared to women in premenopausal stage.