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Weight achieve, particularly on the waist, is frequent throughout the perimenopause and postmenopause interval. Such achieve, together with declining estrogen ranges which can be frequent after menopause, are linked with decreases in insulin sensitivity and will increase in inflammatory processes.
A brand new examine means that central adiposity can also be a danger issue for cognitive decline. Outcomes of the examine are printed in Menopause.
In contrast with general physique fats, visceral adipose tissue (the intra-abdominal fats tissue saved round a number of organs, together with the abdomen, intestines, and liver) has been related to main well being dangers, together with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, hypertension, elevated lipid ranges, heart problems, and Alzheimer’s illness and associated dementias.
The rise in inflammatory markers due to visceral adiposity and decline in estrogen with menopause appears to be a significant component in these illness processes, main researchers to imagine that measures of central adiposity, such because the waist-to-hip ratio, might function early and simply recognizable markers of danger for each metabolic and cognitive dysfunction as a result of estrogen receptors within the mind are concentrated in areas serving govt perform and reminiscence.
Earlier medical trials that tried to hyperlink hormone remedy with cognition offered combined outcomes, relying on the age of the individuals. That led researchers on this newest examine to additional examine the connection between central adiposity, cognitive perform, and hormone remedy publicity in early postmenopausal girls. Their analysis concerned greater than 700 girls aged 42 to 58 years who have been lower than 36 months publish pure menopause.
These individuals have been then divided into three classes—those that obtained oral conjugated equine estrogen, those that obtained transdermal estradiol, and people who obtained a placebo. Central adiposity was estimated by a measure of waist-to-hip ratio.
The researchers concluded that ladies with a better baseline waist-to-hip-ratio had poorer efficiency on all domain-specific cognitive outcomes at baseline, with solely adjustments in visible consideration and govt perform over the four-year examine timeframe. Nevertheless, central adiposity was not discovered to reasonable hormone remedy when put next with placebo cognitive domain-specific outcomes.
Based mostly on these outcomes, the researchers recommend that cognitive well being results must be investigated in early postmenopausal girls, even in girls with low cardiovascular danger statuses.
“Addressing modifiable risk factors early and often is critical to maintaining optimal health and independence as women age. The metabolic and cognitive changes that commonly occur during and after the menopause transition often catch women off-guard and are more difficult to address after the diagnosis has been made. Instituting preventive lifestyle strategies before the menopause transition will result in longitudinal health gains and reduced morbidity and mortality,” says Dr. Monica Christmas, affiliate medical director for The Menopause Society.
Extra data:
Taryn T. James et al, Affiliation between central adiposity and cognitive area perform in just lately postmenopausal girls: an evaluation from the KEEPS-Cog substudy of the Kronos Early Estrogen Preventive Research, Menopause (2025). DOI: 10.1097/gme.0000000000002666
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The North American Menopause Society
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Girls’s waist sizes may maintain clue to their danger of cognitive decline as they age (2025, November 5)
retrieved 5 November 2025
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