For women approaching menopause, some changes began to happen. One of the most common is increased obesity, which in turn increases the risk of breast cancer after menopause.
That’s all I know. What science has not yet fully understood is that the physical mechanisms that lead to this obesity, also known as obesity, develop during the menopause transition.
University of Buffalo and University of Arizona researchers teamed up to find out. The project is focusing on the role of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) during menopause and how it contributes to the development of postmenopausal obesity and breast cancer. This is the largest study of its kind on older women.
“Our hypothesis is that follicle-stimulating hormone causes weight gain and that weight gain increases the risk of breast cancer,” Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, UB School of Public Health and Health Professions, with Jennifer W. Bea, PhD, University of Arizona Cancer Center. Jean Wactawski-Wende, Ph.D., SUNY Distinguished Professor and Dean of the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions, is a co-investigator.
Ochs-Balcom explains that FSH is a hormone released by the pituitary gland that stimulates the production of ovarian follicles before ovulation. Growth, plays an important role in female development and reproduction.
“It’s interesting that later in life, in the years before menopause and before estrogen declines , FSH levels started to rise,” she said. “It is during this time that women notice changes in their bodies, such as abdominal obesity. Previously, declines in estrogen have been blamed, but FSH may have an independent or independent role.”
Ochs-Balcom and Bea after seeing the results of a study showing that blocking follicle-stimulating hormone can reduce obesity
“We are excited to see how this work translates to humans and extends it further to include breast cancer, as we know that obesity increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer risk,” said Ochs-Balcom, an expert on genetic and environmental risk factors for cancer.
The study will draw on a wealth of data collected through the Women’s Health Initiative, a study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Long-term national health research continues to make important contributions to scientists’ understanding of the leading causes of death, disability and frailty in older women.
Researchers will study hormone levels stored in samples from the WHI Biobank, as well as in the abdomen in the years preceding breast cancer diagnosis Detailed measurements of obesity.
“Our team is thrilled to uncover this widely overlooked hormone in this critical part of a woman’s life, ” said Ochs-Balcom.
The current study also builds on initial work led by Ochs-Balcom and funded by the New York State Peter T. Rowley Program superior. UB epidemiology doctoral student Lindsey Mattick has been awarded an NIH fellowship to study FSH and bone mineral density.
“We hope our work can help us understand why women develop abdominal obesity and then, in the long run, how to prevent it It,” Ochs-Balcom said. “Preventing obesity is the ultimate goal and may in turn prevent cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other obesity-related cancers.”
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: Studying hormones may contribute to obesity in postmenopausal women ( August 10, 2022), Retrieved August 20, 2022 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-08-hormone-obesity-postmenopausal-women.html
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