Abstract
BACKGROUND Inflammation is implicated in many aging-related disorders. In animal models, menopause leads to increased gut permeability and inflammation. Our primary objective was to determine if gut permeability increases during the menopause transition (MT) in women. Our exploratory objectives were to examine whether greater gut permeability is associated with more inflammation and lower bone mineral density (BMD).METHODS We included 65 women from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Key measures were markers of gut permeability (gut barrier dysfunction, fatty acid binding protein 2 [FABP2]) and immune activation secondary to gut microbial translocation (LPS binding protein [LBP], soluble CD14 [sCD14]), inflammation (high-sensitivity CRP), and lumbar spine (LS) or total hip (TH) BMD.RESULTS In our primary analysis, FABP2, LBP, and sCD14 increased by 22.8% (P = 0.001), 3.7% (P = 0.05), and 8.9% (P = 0.0002), respectively, from pre- to postmenopause. In exploratory, repeated measures, mixed-effects linear regression (adjusted for BMI, age at the premenopausal visit, race/ethnicity, and study site), greater gut permeability was associated with greater inflammation, along with lower LS and TH BMD.CONCLUSION Gut permeability increases during the MT. Greater gut permeability is associated with more inflammation and lower BMD. Future studies should examine the longitudinal associations of gut permeability, inflammation, and BMD.FUNDING Funding for this research was provided by NIH, Department of Health and Human Services, through the National Institute on Aging, National Institute of Nursing Research, and NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (U01NR004061, U01AG012505, U01AG012535, U01AG012531, U01AG012539, U01AG012546, U01AG012553, U01AG012554, and U01AG012495).
Authors
Albert Shieh, Marta Epeldegui, Arun S. Karlamangla, Gail A. Greendale
This file is in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format. If you have not installed and configured the Adobe Acrobat Reader on your system.
Having trouble reading a PDF?
PDFs are designed to be printed out and read, but if you prefer to read them online, you may find it easier if you increase the view size to 125%.
Having trouble saving a PDF?
Many versions of the free Acrobat Reader do not allow Save. You must instead save the PDF from the JCI Online page you downloaded it from. PC users: Right-click on the Download link and choose the option that says something like "Save Link As...". Mac users should hold the mouse button down on the link to get these same options.
Having trouble printing a PDF?
- Try printing one page at a time or to a newer printer.
- Try saving the file to disk before printing rather than opening it "on the fly." This requires that you configure your browser to "Save" rather than "Launch Application" for the file type "application/pdf", and can usually be done in the "Helper Applications" options.
- Make sure you are using the latest version of Adobe's Acrobat Reader.
