Menopause Magic: Hormone Therapy Fights Insulin Resistance

Hormone therapy was found to be beneficial in reducing insulin resistance in postmenopausal women, revealed study (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
2024 Annual Meeting - Humanizing Artificial Intelligence to Improve Midlife Women's Health

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What is Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance can occur in men or women, but menopausal women are at greater risk because, as estrogen levels fall during the menopause transition, the body can become less responsive to insulin. A diagnosis of Insulin resistance is considered serious because it can be a precursor of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic disorders.

A number of studies have previously attempted to determine the potential positive effect of hormone therapy on insulin resistance. However, those studies produced inconsistent results. But in this new metaanalysis of 17 unique randomized, controlled trials that covered more than 29,000 participants between 1998 and 2024, it was found that hormone therapy significantly reduced insulin resistance in healthy postmenopausal women without metabolic diseases including diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases.

Cumulative totals of the 17 different trials included 15,350 participants who were randomized to hormone therapy including estrogen alone or estrogen plus progestogen and 13,937 who were randomized to placebo. The mean age of the study population ranged from 47 to 75 years, and treatment duration ranged from eight weeks to two years.

More detailed results will be discussed at the 2024 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society as part of the oral abstract presentation titled “Effect of hormone therapy on insulin resistance in healthy postmenopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.”

“Hormone therapy is an effective treatment for many bothersome menopause symptoms, including hot flashes,” says Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society. “This new metaanalysis is important as declining estrogen levels in menopausal women put them at greater risk for insulin resistance and hormone therapy could be beneficial in reducing insulin resistance in these women.”

Reference:

1. 2024 Annual Meeting - Humanizing Artificial Intelligence to Improve Midlife Women's Health - (https://menopause.org/annual-meetings/menopause-society-annual-meeting-2024)

Source-Eurekalert