Follicle-stimulating hormone associates with metabolic factors in postmenopausal women.

Current studies have focused more on the relationships among estrogen, androgen, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). The main aim of the study was to investigate whether the variation of FSH is associated with metabolic factors in postmenopausal women. A total of 561 postmenopausal women aged 39-69 years were selected. FSH, estradiol, fasting blood glucose, and lipid profiles were analyzed. Compared with women in the highest FSH quartile, women in the lowest quartile had higher body mass index (BMI), fast blood glucose (FBG), triglyceride (TG), blood pressure, and serum estradiol (E2) but lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (all p < .05). Compared with women in the groups of normal levels of MetS biomarkers, women in the abnormal groups had lower FSH (all p < .01). Increased quartiles of FSH were associated with significantly decreased rates of abnormal levels of metabolic factors (all p < .05). High FSH levels had protective effects regarding SBP, DBP, and FBG, with odds ratios (ORs) of 0.84 (95% CI 0.76-0.92, p < .001), 0.85 (95% CI 0.78-0.94, p < .01), 0.90 (95% CI 0.83-0.98, p < .01), respectively. Low FSH appears to be a risk factor of all domains of MetS in postmenopausal women, which merits further study.