Overview
- The Nature Medicine paper published Oct. 12–13 analyzed more than 300 million laboratory tests from over one million women in US and Israeli datasets and reports sudden, step-like physiological shifts aligned to each woman's final menstrual period.
- The largest abrupt changes were seen in sex hormones and in tests linked to bone metabolism, liver function, kidney function, blood chemistry, and blood lipids.
- Researchers used a computational method that retrospectively aligned routine lab results to self-reported final menstrual period dates and confirmed men showed no comparable abrupt shifts, but the design cannot prove cause and is vulnerable to reporting errors and selection biases.
- The study found smaller step changes among women recorded as taking menopausal hormone therapy and the authors said they plan a trial of earlier MHT; outside experts warned that healthier people are more likely to use MHT and that the study offers no evidence MHT prevents heart disease or dementia.
- The analysis also indicates many measures begin to change about 15 years before menopause, which could argue for earlier midlife checks of bone density, lipids, blood pressure and glucose, but experts say prospective randomized trials and replication are needed before changing screening or treatment guidelines.