Israel finds sharp bodily changes during transition to menopause — Jerusalem Post

Researchers at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel, found that women undergo sharp changes in a number of physiological indicators during the transition to menopause. These include bone health, liver and kidney function, as well as cholesterol levels. The Jerusalem Post reports on the study results.

Analysis of more than 300 million tests

Scientists analyzed more than 300 million laboratory test results from over one million women in Israel and the United States. The data came from medical records of Israel's Clalit Health Services and the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, collected over 20 years.

Professor Uri Alon's team examined 90 types of laboratory tests and recorded sharp changes in 52 of them. According to the authors, these changes are not limited to declining sex hormone levels and loss of fertility. Researchers found no similar jump in indicators among men of the same age, while changes were less pronounced in women receiving hormone therapy.

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Changes before the last menstrual period

To analyze large datasets, the scientists used a computational method inspired by astronomical approaches to correcting telescope images. It made it possible to account for differences in the age at which menopause occurs in different women and to track changes in indicators more accurately.

The researchers noted that gradual changes begin about a decade before menopause, intensify in the final years before the last menstrual period, and undergo a sharp shift around the time of the last menstrual period. Among the clinically significant changes, the authors named a decrease in bone mineral density, changes in liver indicators, and rising lipid and triglyceride levels, which are risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

The study was observational and therefore does not establish a causal relationship. Data on hormone therapy were also based on a small proportion of women who used it. The team plans a clinical trial of hormone therapy before the last menstrual period to assess its effects on bone and brain health. The results were published in the journal Nature Medicine.