Objective: To assess the associations between measures of adiposity and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) and to evaluate whether such associations differ by race.

Research Design and Methods: Adiposity was measured by anthropometry and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry among women (146 White, 50 Black, and 25 Asian) aged 18-44 years in the BioCycle study. SHBG was repeatedly measured over 1-2 menstrual cycles. The ratio of trunkal to leg fat (T/L) was used to assess upper to lower body adiposity.

Results: Among Whites, all adiposity measures were significantly and inversely associated with SHBG. Among Blacks, BMI (beta=−0.032), waist circumference (beta=−0.016), and T/L (beta=−.033), were significantly associated with SHBG whereas total and trunkal fat were not (p-interaction with race <0.04). Among Asians, measures of central and upper body fat were significantly associated with SHBG (e.g. T/L, beta=−0.84) but not BMI.

Conclusions: Associations between SHBG and adiposity differs by race among premenopausal women.