ArticleBMC endocrine disorders2025
Menopause and obstructive sleep apnea: revealing an independent mediating role of visceral fat beyond body mass index.
Article in BMC endocrine disorders, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed.
- Review
- The Role of Lung Volume, Age, and Body Mass Index in Determining Obstructive Sleep Apnea Severity.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Article
- Excessive Daytime Sleepiness, but Not Insomnia Is Associated With Dyslipidaemia in Patients With Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Participating in ESADA.Journal of sleep research · 2026Article
- Sleep Duration and Mortality in Women: Effect of Aging and Menopause.Sleep medicine clinics · 2026Review
- Insomnia and women: exploring vulnerability, impact, and intervention.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2026Review
- Advances in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Women.Pulmonary therapy · 2026Review
- The Natural History of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Adiposity and domain-specific menopausal symptom severity in midlife women: a cross-sectional clinical study in eastern china.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- The Cardiometabolic Index (CMI) is associated with an increased risk of obstructive sleep apnea: a population-based study.European journal of medical research · 2025Article
- Anthropometric indices and mortality in postmenopausal women: NHANES 1999-2018 evidence.BMC women's health · 2025Article
- Observational
- The impact of obesity on upper airway anatomy as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging and obstructive sleep apnea endotypic traits.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Associations between body composition, hydration status, and sleep architecture in obstructive sleep apnea.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMenopause is a significant phase in women's health, in which the incidence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is significantly increased. Body fat distribution changes with age and hormone levels in postmenopausal women, but the extent to which changes in body fat distribution affect the occurrence of OSA is unclear.
methodsThis research performed a cross-sectional analysis utilizing data from the 2015-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Body fat distribution was quantified using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry in kilograms. Menopausal status and OSA symptoms were determined by questionnaire. Weighted multivariable regression analysis was utilized to investigate the correlation between menopausal status and OSA symptoms and body fat composition. We did a mediation analysis to assess how much of the effect of menopausal status on OSA symptoms was mediated through in body fat composition.
resultsThe analysis comprised 1459 individuals from NHANES, consisting of 1188 premenopausal and 271 postmenopausal women. In the weighted sample, 36.01% of premenopausal women and 53.39% of postmenopausal women had OSA symptoms. After adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and other potential confounders, menopausal status was correlated with a higher prevalence of OSA symptoms (OR = 1.57; 95% CI: 1.16,2.13), and increased visceral fat mass (β = 0.12; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.17). In addition, visceral fat mass exhibited a significant correlation with OSA symptoms (OR = 3.79; 95% CI: 1.61, 8.94). Mediation analysis showed that 29.76% of the effect of menopausal status on OSA symptoms was mediated through visceral fat. In age-matched analysis, postmenopausal women had higher visceral fat mass (0.63 kg vs. 0.52 kg, P = 0.02) and a higher prevalence of OSA symptoms (68.3% vs. 45.7%, P = 0.02) compared with premenopausal women; however, there was no significant difference in BMI (P > 0.05).
conclusionOur results suggest that menopausal status is associated with increased visceral fat accumulation and OSA symptoms prevalence. Visceral fat accumulation appears to play an important role in the development of OSA in postmenopausal women, independent of BMI; this highlights the importance of further studying this relationship.
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