The Association Between Parity and Metabolically Unhealthy Normal-Weight in Chinese Postmenopausal Women

Abstract

BackgroundStudies analyzing the association between parity and metabolically unhealthy normal-weight (MUHNW) individuals in postmenopausal women remain limited, this study aimed to explore the association between parity and MUHNW among Chinese postmenopausal women.MethodsIn total, 776 normal-weight undiagnosed type 2 diabetes postmenopausal women who visited the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children’s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University for a routine health check-up between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2019 were included in the study. All individuals had fully completed information records encompassing standardized electronic medical records, physical examinations, and biochemical measurements. The association between parity and MUHNW was analyzed using multivariate logistic regression.ResultsCompared to women with a parity of one, the odds ratios (OR) [95% confidence interval (CI)] of the parity 2, 3, and ≥4 groups were observed to be 1.40 (0.89, 2.20), 2.00 (1.16, 3.44) and 1.87 (0.96, 3.62), respectively, with P for trend < 0.05 after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Women with a higher parity (≥3) had an increased OR of abdominal obesity, while the OR (95% CI) of the parity 3 group was 2.54 (1.46, 4.40) and that of the parity 4 group was 4.25 (2.11, 8.56), the P for trend < 0.001 after adjusting for age, body mass index (BMI), education level, first-degree relatives of patients with diabetes, smoking status, alcohol drinking status, physical activity, pregnancy losses, age at menarche, and duration of reproductive years. No significant differences were detected for other metabolic disorders including high levels of triglycerides (TG), blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in different parity groups.ConclusionHigher parity was associated with a higher risk of MUHNW in Chinese postmenopausal women. Accordingly, it may be plausible that parity serves as a risk factor for metabolic disorders irrespective of BMI, and abdominal obesity may play an important role in metabolic disorders.