Age of menopause and its correlation with gait parameters in 45-50 years old postmenopausal women: a cross-sectional study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20262739Keywords:
Age of menopause, Spatiotemporal gait parameters, Body mass indexAbstract
Background: Menopause marks the permanent end of menstruation and is accompanied by declining estrogen levels, leading to changes in bone density, muscle strength, metabolism, and overall health. These changes may influence mobility. Gait, a key indicator of physical function, reflects balance, neuromuscular control, and musculoskeletal performance. While gait alterations have been reported in postmenopausal women, limited evidence exists on how the age of menopause impacts gait. Understanding this relationship may help detect early functional decline and guide physiotherapy strategies.
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 30 postmenopausal women aged 45–50 years using purposive sampling. Anthropometric variables and spatiotemporal gait parameters (step length, stride length, step/stride time, and walking speed) were assessed using Kinovea software and analysed using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) v25.
Results: Among 30 postmenopausal women (mean age 48.6±1.8 years; menopause age 45.3±2.6 years), 13.3% were overweight and 56.6% obese. Mean gait values included walking speed 61.37±7.59 cm/s, step length 77–78 cm, and stride length 148–151 cm, with slightly shorter step/stride times than normative data. Age of menopause and body mass index (BMI) showed weak or negligible, but statistically insignificant, correlations with gait parameters (p>0.05).
Conclusions: Age of menopause and BMI were not associated with gait parameters, and functional mobility was largely preserved despite high overweight/obesity prevalence.
References
Ahuja M. Age of menopause and determinants of menopause age: A PAN India survey by IMS. J Mid-life Health. 2016;7:126-31.
Manikowska F, Hojan K, Chen PJ, Jóźwiak M, Jóźwiak A. The gait pattern in post-menopausal women. Pilot study. Ortop Traumatol Rehabil. 2013;15(6):575-83.
de Souza Macêdo PR, Rocha TN, Gomes Fernandes SG, Apolinário Vieira MC, Jerez-Roig J, Aires da Câmara SM. Possible association of early menopause with worse physical function: a systematic review. Menopause. 2021;28(4):467-75.
Velez MP, Alvarado BE, Rosendaal N, da Câmara SM, Belanger E, Richardson H, et al. Age at natural menopause and physical functioning in postmenopausal women: the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging. Menopause. 2019;26(9):958-65.
Carlson K, Vadakekut ES. Menopause. In: StatPearls. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026.
Pallikadavath S, Ogollah R, Singh A, Dean T, Dewey A, Stones W. Natural menopause among women below 50 years in India: A population-based study. Indian J Med Res. 2016;144(3):366-77.
Prasad JB, Tyagi NK, Verma P. Age at menopause in India: A systematic review. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2021;15(1):373-7.
Espírito Santo J, Aibar-Almazán A, Martínez-Amat A, de Loureiro NEM, Brandão-Loureiro V, Lavilla-Lerma ML, et al. Menopausal Symptoms, Postural Balance, and Functional Mobility in Middle-Aged Postmenopausal Women. Diagnostics (Basel). 2021;11(12):2178.
Ibeneme S, Ezeigwe C, Ibeneme GC, Ezuma A, Okoye I, Nwankwo JM. Response of gait output and handgrip strength to changes in body fat mass in pre-and postmenopausal women. Curr Thera Res. 2019;90:92-8.
Scataglini S, Verwulgen S, Roosens E, Haelterman R, Van Tiggelen D. Measuring Spatiotemporal Parameters on Treadmill Walking Using Wearable Inertial System. Sensors (Basel). 2021;21(13):4441.
Barker S, Craik R, Freedman W, Herrmann N, Hillstrom H. Accuracy, reliability, and validity of a spatiotemporal gait analysis system. Med Eng Phys. 2006;28(5):460-7.
Eldeeb AM, Khodair AS. Three-dimensional analysis of gait in postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2014;11:55.
Puig-Diví A, Escalona-Marfil C, Padullés-Riu JM, Busquets A, Padullés-Chando X, Marcos-Ruiz D. Validity and reliability of the Kinovea program in obtaining angles and distances using coordinates in 4 perspectives. PLoS One. 2019;14(6):e0216448.
Fernández-González P, Koutsou A, Cuesta-Gómez A, Carratalá-Tejada M, Miangolarra-Page JC, Molina-Rueda F. Reliability of Kinovea® Software and Agreement with a Three-Dimensional Motion System for Gait Analysis in Healthy Subjects. Sensors. 2020;20(11):3154.
Gabriel R, Moreira H, Soares P, Abrantes C, Aragão F, Faria A. Gait Variability and Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women. Science and Technology Publications, Lda. 2014.
Aleixo P, Patto JV, Abrantes J. Spatial-temporal gait parameters in RA post-menopausal women fallers and non-fallers. J Human Sport Exercise. 2015;19(1):61-9.
Palombaro KM, Hack LM, Mangione KK, Barr AE, Newton RA, Magri F, et al. Gait variability detects women in early postmenopause with low bone mineral density. Phys Ther. 2009;89(12):1315-26.
da Câmara SM, Zunzunegui MV, Pirkle C, Moreira MA, Maciel ÁC. Menopausal status and physical performance in middle aged women: a cross-sectional community-based study in Northeast Brazil. PLoS One. 2015;10(3):e0119480.
Sowers M, Tomey K, Jannausch M, Eyvazzadeh A, Nan B, Randolph J Jr. Physical functioning and menopause states. Obstet Gynecol. 2007;110(6):1290-6.
Babbar K, Singh V, Sivakami M. Rising premature menopause and variations by education level in India. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):18238.
Meher T, Sahoo H. Premature menopause among women in India: Evidence from National Family Health Survey-IV. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2021;47(11):3888-98.
Pallikadavath S, Ogollah R, Singh A, Dean T, Dewey A, Stones W. Natural menopause among women below 50 years in India. Indian J Med Res. 2016;144(3):366-77.
Halder P, Soni A, Seth A, Vijayakumar D, Das A, Sankhyan S, et al. Association of early menopause with indoor air pollution: A multilevel modelling analysis of the nationally representative cross-sectional study in India. J Family Med Prim Care. 2025;14(1):173-83.
Midgette AS, Baron JA. Cigarette smoking and the occurrence of natural menopause. Maturitas. 1990;12(1):47-55.
Bhattacharya S, Patel S, Shah D. Ethnic discordance in serum anti-Müllerian hormone in European and Indian healthy women and Indian infertile women. Reprod Biomed Online. 2022;45(6):1064-73.
Lau LK, Wee SL, Pang WJ, Chen KK, Abdul Jabbar K, Yap PL, et al. Reference values of gait speed and gait spatiotemporal parameters for a South East Asian population: The Yishun study. Clin Interv Aging. 2020;15:1753-65.
Koster A. The role of adiposity in the relationship between BMI and gait speed in older adults. J Gerontol Series A. 2013;97(3):552-60.
El Khoudary SR, Aggarwal B, Beckie B, Hodis HM, Johnson AE, Langer RD, et al. Menopause and cardiovascular disease: Physiology and pathophysiology. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020;142(25):e506-32.
Hsu HH, Chiu CY, Chen WC, Yang YR, Wang RY. Effects of exercise on bone density and physical performance in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PM R. 2024;16(12):1358-83.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
