Interaction of Metals, Menopause and COVID-19—A Review of the Literature

Abstract

A growing number of reports point to the possible role of environmental factors in determining the age of onset of menopause. Specific metals, such as mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead can lead to fertility disorders, to endocrine dysregulation, and in addition, their high blood concentrations correlate with the onset of menopause. Changing concentrations of hormones in the blood during this period of a woman’s life can also have an impact on SARS-CoV-2 infection, and excessively high or low levels of metals may also be an important predictor for the course of COVID-19. Postmenopausal women are exposed to greater risk of serum biochemical changes, and with the possibility of nutritional disturbances, particularly involving trace minerals, the risk of age-related diseases is very high during this period. These adverse changes in serum trace minerals should be taken into consideration for the early diagnosis and prevention of menopause-related diseases. Dietary supplementation may be necessary, especially where levels are significantly reduced. We performed a manual search of scientific articles cited in major electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science and Google Scholar) in November 2022 to identify studies relevant to the relationship between metals, COVID-19 and menopause. The effects of metals on the course of menopause is a broad topic and should certainly still be a subject of research, due to, among other things, continuing environmental pollution and the use of metals in many areas of life.

Metals and Metal Complexes in Diseases with a Focus on COVID-19: Facts and Opinions

“…The next review, conducted by the Męcik-Kronenberg group, focused on metal interactions, menopause, and COVID-19 [ 11 ]. The authors concisely described the picture of menopause, provided a discussion on the potential impact of menopause on the course of COVID-19, summarized recent findings on the relationship between the exposure to some metals and menopause, and collected information about supplementation with certain elements in menopausal woman and the relationship between metals and SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans.…”

“…The authors concisely described the picture of menopause, provided a discussion on the potential impact of menopause on the course of COVID-19, summarized recent findings on the relationship between the exposure to some metals and menopause, and collected information about supplementation with certain elements in menopausal woman and the relationship between metals and SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. They emphasized the need for supplementation with some minerals in menopausal woman to alleviate the clinical symptoms of COVID-19 and the toxic effects of metals, they and drew attention to the need for further larger-scale studies on the effects of metals on the course of menopause [ 11 ].…”