Dietary inflammatory index and dietary energy density are associated with menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: No previous study has evaluated the association of the dietary inflammatory index (DII) and dietary energy density (DED) with menopausal symptoms and its subclasses in postmenopausal women. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of DII score and DED with menopausal symptoms and its subtypes in Iranian postmenopausal women. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 393 postmenopausal women who attended health centers in the south of Tehran, Iran. The DII score was calculated using dietary factors obtained by a validated food frequency questionnaire. DED was defined as average daily energy intake (kcal) per gram of food. The Menopause Rating Scale questionnaire was used to evaluate the menopausal symptoms. The total Menopause Rating Scale score (TMRSS) was the sum of the somatic score (SS), psychological score (PS), and urogenital score. Linear regression analysis was used to assess the association of the DII score and DED with menopausal symptoms. RESULTS: After adjusting for covariates, participants in the highest tertile of DII score had greater SS compared to those in the lowest tertile (ßDIIt3vs1= 0.032, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.004-0.068, P = 0.04). No significant relationship was found between DII score and PS, urogenital score or TMRSS. Furthermore, higher DED was associated with greater SS (ßDIIt3vs1 = 0.071, 95% CI: 0.028-0.115, P = 0.001), PS (ßDIIt3vs1 = 0.065, 95% CI: 0.012-0.121, P = 0.01) and TMRSS (ßDIIt3vs1 = 0.053, 95% CI: 0.017-0.088, P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: A proinflammatory diet was associated with higher menopause-specific somatic symptoms and higher DED was positively associated with menopausal symptoms.

Dietary total antioxidant capacity is inversely associated with depression, anxiety and some oxidative stress biomarkers in postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Postmenopausal women are at higher risk of mental disorders. Oxidative stress has implication in the development of these disorders. Dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) has been proposed as a tool for assessing dietary antioxidants intake. The relationship between DTAC with depression, anxiety and stress has not been investigated in postmenopausal women. Thus, we aimed to assess the association between DTAC and depression, stress and anxiety as well as oxidative stress biomarkers. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was carried out on 175 postmenopausal women. Data on dietary intake and mental health were collected by 147-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) and Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-42), respectively. Dietary and serum total antioxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), oxidized-LDL, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were measured. ANOVA test was applied to compare the mean of variables across the tertiles of DTAC. The relationship between DTAC and oxidative stress biomarkers was determined through ANCOVA method. Simple and multivariate linear regression tests were performed to measure the relationship between DTAC and mental health. RESULTS: Serum MDA level was significantly lower in the subjects at the highest tertiles of DTAC (P-value < 0.001). In addition, serum TAC level was significantly higher in subjects at the second tertile of DTAC (P-value = 0.04). DTAC was inversely and independently related to depression (ß = - 0.16, P-value = 0.03) and anxiety scores (ß = - 0.21, P-value = 0.007). There was no significant association between DTAC and stress score (ß = - 0.10, P-value = 0.1). CONCLUSION: An inverse relationship was found between DTAC with depression, anxiety scores and some oxidative stress biomarkers in postmenopausal women. These findings indicate DTAC may be used for developing effective dietary measures for reducing depression and anxiety in these women.

Dietary patterns and their association with menopausal symptoms: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Although menopause is a natural event in a woman's life, some of its symptoms can be severe enough to adversely affect her health. There is some evidence to suggest that diet has an influence on menopausal symptoms, but less attention has been paid to dietary patterns. The purpose of this study is to determine the association of dietary patterns with physical, mental, and genitourinary menopausal symptoms. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was applied using a sample of 400 postmenopausal women who attended health centers in the south of Tehran, Iran. The menopausal symptoms were assessed by a Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) questionnaire; a 147-item, semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire was used to collect dietary information, and major dietary patterns were identified by principal component analysis. Linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between menopausal symptoms and dietary patterns. RESULTS: Three major dietary patterns were identified: vegetables and fruits (VF); mayonnaise, liquid oils, sweets, and desserts (MLSD); and solid fats and snacks (SFS). It has been found that the VF dietary pattern is inversely associated with general (ß = -1.37; SE = 1.08; P for trend <0.001), physical (ß = -1.54; SE = 1.09; P for trend <0.001), and mental (ß = -1.58; SE = 1.11; P for trend <0.001) symptoms. A stronger adherence to the MLSD dietary pattern was directly associated with general (ß = 1.15; SE = 1.08; P for trend <0.001) and genitourinary symptoms (ß = 1.54; SE = 1.1; P for trend <0.001). Moreover, the SFS dietary pattern was directly related to the general (ß = 1.23; SE = 1.09; P for trend = 0.01), physical (ß = 1.24; SE = 1.09; P for trend = 0.04), and mental (ß = 1.29; SE = 1.12; P for trend < 0.001) symptoms. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that there is an inverse association between VF dietary pattern and menopausal symptoms. In contrast, the MLSD and SFS dietary patterns were correlated to an increased risk of these symptoms.

Dietary total antioxidant capacity is inversely related to menopausal symptoms: a cross-sectional study among Iranian postmenopausal women.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess the association between dietary total antioxidant capacity (DTAC) and menopausal symptoms (MS) in postmenopausal middle-aged women. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 400 postmenopausal women who referred to municipality health houses and health centers in south Tehran, Iran. Sociodemographic data and anthropometric measures such as body weight, height, and waist circumference were determined. Dietary intake was assessed using a 147-item validated food frequency questionnaire. Energy-adjusted DTAC was calculated using the US Department of Agriculture database. Individual MS was measured by the Menopause Rating Scale questionnaire. RESULTS: Multivariable linear regression analyses indicated that DTAC was negatively associated with total Menopause Rating Scale score, somatic and psychological score, which was independent of confounding variables such as age, education, waist circumference, total physical activity, dietary intake of fiber, tea and coffee intake, total energy intake, and dietary supplement use (P < 0.001). Additionally, in logistic regression, a negative association between MS and DTAC was observed, which was independent of confounding variables (Ptrend = 0.002). Logistic regression for each symptom indicated that higher DTAC was associated with reduction in hot flashes and sweating, sleep problems, anxiety, exhaustion, and difficulty concentrating. However, a significant positive association was observed between DTAC and sexual problems. CONCLUSION: DTAC is inversely associated with MS, which could be of particular significance for somatic and psychological symptoms. These findings indicate that DTAC could be an important basis for developing an effective dietary measure for reducing MS.