Mental Health | Greater abdominal fat may signal increased anxiety risk in middle-aged women,
according to a study published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.The study evaluated the link between waist-to-height ratio and anxiety in 5580 Latin American women age 40 through 59. Some 58% of the women in the study were postmenopausal, and 61.3% said they experienced anxiety.
Women in the middle and upper thirds of waist-to-height ratios were significantly more likely to experience anxiety, researchers found. Furthermore, women with waist-to-height ratios in the upper third were more likely to display signs of anxiety compared with women in the lower two-thirds.
Practice Tools: Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7)
During midlife, anxiety is more frequent in women, research suggests. Researchers believe this could be due to lower levels of estrogen, which has a neuro-protective function.
“Hormone changes may be involved in the development of both anxiety and abdominal obesity because of their roles in the brain as well as in fat distribution,” said JoAnn Pinkerton, MD, executive director of The North American Menopause Society.
“This study provides valuable insights for health care providers treating middle-aged women, because it implies that waist-to-height ratio could be a good marker for evaluating patients for anxiety.”
