The relation between body mass index and speaking fundamental frequency in premenopausal and postmenopausal women

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between body mass index (BMI) and speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) in premenopausal and postmenopausal women with and without hormone therapy (HT). Methods: A total of 105 middle-aged women participated and were divided into three groups: premenopausal women (n = 41), postmenopausal women without HT (n = 26), and postmenopausal women with HT (n = 38). The mean SFF (in hertz) of connected speech was measured using the Real-Time Pitch program from Computerized Speech Lab (Kay). Correlation coefficients were calculated using partial correlation between BMI and SFF, controlling for age. Results: A positive correlation was apparent between BMI and SFF in the group of postmenopausal women without HT (P = 0.021). In the group of premenopausal women and the group of postmenopausal women with HT, no correlation was found between BMI and SFF. Conclusions: In postmenopausal women without HT, increasing BMI is associated with increasing SFF. This correlation is possibly related to the higher amount of estrogen production in adipose tissue in women with a higher BMI.