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Overview, Common Pathways Model, Administrative structureLink to PMBC Members and Contact InfoUpcoming and past Lectures, Workshops, Journal Clubs, etc.Pilot research and other PMBC research projects, PMBC publicationsReviews of assessment tools, Consultation, Equipment referralsClinical Scholars Program, Workshops, Lectures, Summer InstituteMeasurement Resources . . .Request consult on Biological, Psychosocial, Health Behavior, or Sleep research		 Regional fat distribution, including muscle and abdominal adiposity, is related to physical
inactivity and insulin resistance. After menopause, women experience changes in body
composition that may be due to changes in hormone levels and physical activity patterns.
Psychosocial factors such as stress and hostility also influence adiposity after menopause.
Starting in the early postmenopause, women gain total and abdominal adipose tissue and
lose lean muscle mass. However, little is known about accumulation of muscle adiposity in
postmenopausal women and how it may relate to psychosocial factors, physical activity
levels, and muscle strength and quality. To date, few studies have been done in a
postmenopausal population that use sophisticated techniques of measuring body composition
(i.e., computed tomography (CT)) that can measure muscle adiposity or include measures of
muscle quality and strength. Postmenopausal women are an important and interesting group
in which to study the relationship of psychosocial factors, physical activity, and regional
adiposity. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk for women increases dramatically after
menopause due in part to the loss of the beneficial effects of estrogen (e.g., on favorably
augmenting lipid profiles), lifestyle changes including less physical activity, and changes in
body composition. In addition, changes in social roles and health after menopause may have
psychological consequences (e.g., increased stress) which also influence CVD risk.
. Exact mechanisms and other factors contributing to the increased risk of CVD after menopause
have yet to be determined, but a better understanding of the relationships between psychosocial
variables, physical activity, regional adiposity and is a crucial preliminary step. Using novel
approaches such as measuring regional adiposity may help us better understand the
physiological basis of increased CVD risk after menopause and would provide us with an even
stronger rationale for promoting physical activity in postmenopausal women. 

This research fits into the shared psychobiological pathways model promoted by the Pittsburgh
Mind-Body Center. This pilot study is designed to gain a better understanding the relationship of
psychosocial factors, physical activity, regional adiposity, and muscle strength and quality in
postmenopausal women, with additional analyses to understand how such relationships may be
modified by HT use. (PDF VERSION)
 

Pilot Projects Overview.Current Pilot Projects.Prior Pilot Projects
  11/5/2005  LA / tc

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