A new study from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) shows no significant link between vitamin D levels and menopause symptoms. The study was published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.
The authors analyzed the relationship between the blood levels of vitamin D and a number of menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbance, concentration, and forgetfulness in 530 women who participated in the calcium and vitamin D WHI trial.
Menopause
Menopause is defined as the state of permanent cessation of menstrual cycles (periods) for 12-months.
Advertisement
There was good reason to look for a link because other studies have implied some relationship. For example, breast cancer patients with higher vitamin D levels have fewer hot flashes and other symptoms than women with lower levels. Supplementing vitamin D can improve mood in other groups of people. The vitamin can protect against depletion of serotonin, which plays a role in regulating body heat. And vitamin D deficiency can result in muscle and joint pain.
Furthermore, estrogen plays a role in activating vitamin D, meaning that the estrogen deficiency that comes with menopause could worsen any problems with vitamin D deficiency.The number of symptoms and vitamin D levels had a borderline significant relationship at first, but after the analysts adjusted for multiple comparisons, the association disappeared. And in looking at multiple comparisons, no individual menopause symptoms were significantly associated with vitamin D either.
![Weight Gain After Menopause]( "Weight Gain After Menopause")
About 90% women experience weight gain or difficulty maintaining their usual weight after attaining menopause.
"With so many women taking vitamin D supplements these days, it is good to know what it can and cannot do. We need to be realistic in our expectations," says NAMS Executive Director Margery Gass, MD. The authors cautioned that this study doesn't entirely prove that vitamin D levels and menopause symptoms are not connected because the sample of women they had with enough data was relatively small and the women, who averaged age 66, were nearly 16 years from menopause, and only 27 percent of the women in this group had hot flashes or night sweats. Looking at vitamin D levels in women as they go through the menopause transition might be valuable.
Source: Eurekalert
Weight Gain After Menopause
About 90% women experience weight gain or difficulty maintaining their usual weight after attaining menopause.
Advertisement
"With so many women taking vitamin D supplements these days, it is good to know what it can and cannot do. We need to be realistic in our expectations," says NAMS Executive Director Margery Gass, MD. The authors cautioned that this study doesn't entirely prove that vitamin D levels and menopause symptoms are not connected because the sample of women they had with enough data was relatively small and the women, who averaged age 66, were nearly 16 years from menopause, and only 27 percent of the women in this group had hot flashes or night sweats. Looking at vitamin D levels in women as they go through the menopause transition might be valuable.
Source: Eurekalert
Dealing with Menopause symptoms through lifestyle changes
You can deal with menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, weight gain and forgetfulness by making simple lifestyle changes.
Advertisement
 Hot FlashThe frequency of the hot flash can be from 1 to 2 two hot flashes a week to 10 or greater in a day. The silver lining is that it usually decreases over time. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Women Health News
Does embryo growth affect miscarriage chances in pregnancies? Yes, embryonic development is delayed in pregnancies ending in a miscarriage compared to ongoing pregnancies.
Don't let a full heart fool you - it's essential to be aware of your age and the challenges it presents in life as per a new study.
In 90% of women with female genital tuberculosis condition, the fallopian tubes are affected. In around 70% uterine endometrium is affected.
Women involved in motor vehicle crashes during pregnancy were at increased risk of various adverse pregnancy outcomes, especially while riding scooters.
Are shift works bad for women's health? Yes, Women who are working rotating shifts are more likely to be frail.