Menopause and cardiometabolic diseases: What we (don't) know and why it matters

Abstract

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Associations between abdominal adipose tissue, reproductive span, and brain characteristics in post-menopausal women

“…For example, a longer reproductive span has been linked to larger GM volumes (Schelbaum et al, 2021), lower WM brain age (Subramaniapillai et al, 2022), and lower dementia risk in older-age samples (Fox et al, 2013;Gilsanz et al, 2019;Gong et al, 2022), although contrasting results have linked a longer reproductive span to increased risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) (Najar et al, 2020;Geerlings et al, 2001). Age at menarche and menopause are also known to have genetic components (Fernández-Rhodes et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2019;Ruth et al, 2021), but the understanding of how the genetics underlying reproductive span relate to body composition and brain structure is limited (Roa-Díaz et al, 2021). A later age at natural menopause has also been associated with lower risk for post-menopausal abdominal obesity (Zsakai et al, 2015), smaller post-menopausal increase of BMI (Montazeri et al, 2019), and decreased risk for cardiometabolic diseases (Muka et al, 2016;Roa-Díaz et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2017).…”

“…Age at menarche and menopause are also known to have genetic components (Fernández-Rhodes et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2019;Ruth et al, 2021), but the understanding of how the genetics underlying reproductive span relate to body composition and brain structure is limited (Roa-Díaz et al, 2021). A later age at natural menopause has also been associated with lower risk for post-menopausal abdominal obesity (Zsakai et al, 2015), smaller post-menopausal increase of BMI (Montazeri et al, 2019), and decreased risk for cardiometabolic diseases (Muka et al, 2016;Roa-Díaz et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2017).…”

“…However, the relationship between these are likely to be bidirectional, as pre-menopausal body composition can influence the timing of natural menopause (Dorjgochoo et al, 2008;Roa-Díaz et al, 2021;Tao et al, 2015;Zhu et al, 2019). Although increasing evidence points to greater lifetime exposure to oestrogens as beneficial for neural and cardiometabolic health, the mechanisms of these long-lasting actions of oestrogens are poorly understood.…”

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Phytoestrogens

“…Phytoestrogens have potent antioxidants and antiinflammatory properties, particularly resveratrol and genistein. Genistein, resveratrol, and other isoflavones exhibit estrogen receptor (ER)-independent characteristics have been shown to have the ability to modify a variety of intracellular signaling systems that are essential for controlling cellular growth and protection [1][2][3][4][5][6].…”

“…Dose, food composition, phytoestrogens delivered, and duration of usage differ significantly amongst epidemiological research, making intercomparison difficult. However, there is great interest in making valid claims about bone, breast, heart, and menopausal symptoms advantages [1][2][3][4][5][6].…”