Metabolic syndrome in menopause

Background: Menopause is associated with a high risk for cardiometabolic diseases, including metabolic syndrome (MetS), cardiovascular disease (CVD) and type 2 diabetes (DMT2).
Insulin resistance, abdominal obesity, dyslipidemia and hypertension are in- terdependent factors associated with menopause. The increase in the syste- mic inflammation is the common denominator of MetS. The purposes of this review are i) to clarify how the natural cessation of ovarian function, which is characterized by the decline of female sexual hormones and the relative in- crease of androgens, could explain the relationship between MetS, increase of the inflammatory indexes and menopause; ii) to understand how surgical menopause could influence the onset of MetS; iii) to highlight the role of hormone replacement therapy.
Methods: We revised the published literature in english language on PubMed database, from year 1992 to year 2021, by searching the following keywords, including 1) a refined definition of metabolic syndrome 2) relationship betwe- en metabolic syndrome and systemic inflammation 3) relationship between metabolic syndrome and obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, osteoporo- sis and hypothyroidism, 4) surgical menopause and metabolic syndrome, 5) effects of HRT on the components of the MetS in post-menopausal women. Results: Derived evidences suggest an increased incidence of metabolic syn- drome in menopause, probably due to woman aging and hormonal chan- ges in menopause, worsened by hypothyroidism, inappropriate lifestyles and lack of timely initiated HRT.
Conclusions: Menopause plays a crucial role in the development of MetS and surgical menopause; sudden cessation of ovarian function can lead to a hi- gher incidence of MetS and systemic inflammation than physiological me- nopause. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and a healthy lifestyle may positively influence some aspects of Mets. Our observations can help in the clinical management of menopause-related MetS.

Keywords: menopause; surgical menopause; metabolic syndrome; inflammation; hormone replacement therapy.