# Adipokines, Sex Hormones and Cardiac Dysfunction in Postmenopausal Women of the MESA Study – An analysis of Secondary Data

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · 2023 · $127,519

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
Menopausal age is a sex-specific risk factor for heart failure (HF). Although prior studies have demonstrated
associations of menopausal age with subclinical cardiac dysfunction and HF, the exact mechanisms that link
menopausal age and cardiac dysfunction are not known. Obesity is a known HF risk factor that becomes more
prevalent after menopause begins. Adipokines, such as leptin and adiponectin, which are released from
adipose tissue, have been linked with subclinical cardiac dysfunction and symptomatic HF. We surmised that
adipokines play a role in the relationships of menopausal age with cardiac structure and function and
subsequently with clinical HF. The overarching goals of this proposal are to examine the influence of serum
adipokines on the associations of menopausal age with cardiac structure and function measured by magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). We will also investigate the
moderating role of adipokines on the relationship between menopausal age and HF incidence (including HF
subtypes), accounting for years post menopause, sex hormone levels and body composition using the MESA
data. MESA provides a comprehensive assessment of body composition including body mass index, waist
circumference, waist hip ratio, computed tomography measures of subcutaneous adipose tissue and visceral
adipose tissue, sex hormone and adipokine data, detailed measures of cardiac structure and function by MRI
and incident HF records. This approach illustrates the pathophysiological progression from subclinical cardiac
dysfunction to clinical HF. MESA has information on preserved and reduced ejection fraction HF, further
allowing us to explore associations according to HF subtypes. The results from this study will be used as pilot
data for a future R01 grant aimed at further characterizing HF in postmenopausal women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10690544
- **Project number:** 5R21HL165018-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS
- **Principal Investigator:** IMO A EBONG
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $127,519
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10690544

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10690544, Adipokines, Sex Hormones and Cardiac Dysfunction in Postmenopausal Women of the MESA Study – An analysis of Secondary Data (5R21HL165018-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10690544. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*