It’s a known fact that metabolic health impacts a woman’s perimenopause experience. And now, new research suggests one way this may be true: a recently released study suggests that midlife women with higher fasting insulin levels may develop earlier, more prolonged vasomotor symptoms (VMS), such as night sweats and hot flashes.
The study, which was published last month in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, included data from about 700 American women between the ages 42 and 52 that was collected through the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Participants were followed for over 10 years. Women who took medications to manage their insulin or who had had an oophorectomy or hysterectomy were excluded from this study.
Researchers used metabolic measurements collected from participants at age 47 to test whether insulin levels impacted the timing or duration of VMS. They found that insulin levels and body mass index (BMI) at this age both had bearing on when and how women experienced hot flashes.
“Higher insulin at age 47 was also associated with longer durations of hot flashes and cold sweats and a rise in testosterone levels across the menopausal transition,” Faria Athar, the study’s lead author, said in a news release. “These findings help us to fill some of the gaps in our understanding of menopause symptoms and why their severity varies for different women.”
This comes as midlife emerges as a key window for diabetes prevention and metabolic health intervention. According to Dr. Alyssa Dweck, a board-certified OB-GYN and the chief medical officer of Bonafide Health, the study’s results aren’t surprising and align with original reports from the SWAN study about how metabolic health impacts perimenopause and menopause.
“The first association should come as no surprise since metabolic health, in general, is clearly associated with general health, socioeconomic status and ethnicity, all variables of significance as related to the menopause experience as noted in the SWAN study,” she told Flow Space. “In addition, it is well established from the SWAN study that those with obesity, and thus elevated BMI, have an increased risk of significant VMS.”
While more research is needed, Dweck said the most exciting part of these findings lies in the potential for women and their doctors to take proactive steps to lessen the impact of symptoms. “The most exciting take home from this study is that it is possible that fasting insulin and/or elevated BMI may play a role in early identification or prediction of those who might suffer from VMS and its downstream effects,” she added.
While insulin levels aren’t solely determined by lifestyle habits like consistent exercise and a nutritious diet, the findings suggest that taking steps to lower insulin levels could ease the perimenopause and menopause experience. This idea aligns with other expert suggestions linking healthy lifestyle choices with less severe, disruptive perimenopause and menopause symptoms.
“The study results further support the proactive recommendations as related to diet/nutrition and exercise, both controllable variables which can impact the menopause experience,” said Dweck. “Further study might lead to a simple blood test done prior to menopause or even at the onset of perimenopause, that could potentially predict VMS severity and onset, which may help with shared decision making about treatment and management tools going forward.”
Dweck noted that the ability to identify who would most benefit from preemptive intervention via lifestyle interventions or medications could ease women’s suffering and even prevent VMS.