Association of body mass index and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis aims to exploring the correlation between body mass index (BMI) and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women (PMW). METHODS: The MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, Scopus and Cochrane Central database was searched in August 2025. Special medications or diseases were excluded, and the correlation coefficient values of BMI and BMD within different bone regions were extracted and pooled. Sensitivity and meta-regression analysis were further investigated. This study was pre-registered in PROSPERO (CRD42024550020). RESULTS: = 0.006). There were heterogeneities in the correlations with BMI in total hip (r: 0.336; CI: 0.282, 0.390) and femoral neck (r: 0.305; CI: 0.231, 0.379). CONCLUSION: A positive correlation between the BMD and BMI in PMW with various degrees. Trochanteric sites had the largest correlation, calcaneal sites had the lowest correlation, while other sites were moderate. Efforts to limit decreasing of BMI preventing BMD decreasing in PMW were reasonable.