Abstract
The dramatic changes in sex hormone levels occurring during menopausal transition and beyond are responsible for long-term consequences, which are of paramount importance for healthy aging in women. Sex hormones have a vital physiological role to maintain health and normal functioning of several organs such as the bone, heart, and brain. Disease activity is strongly dependent on estrogen exposure, and cardiovascular and musculoskeletal disorders occur more frequently during post-reproductive life. Even cognitive decline is related to hormonal deprivation across menopausal transition. Several lines of evidence indicate that the presence, duration, and severity of menopausal symptoms, especially hot flashes, not only have an impact on quality of life, but they are biomarkers of increased risk for chronic conditions, which required preventive strategies, including menopause hormone therapy. Apart from nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle measures, the use of appropriate hormonal treatments in symptomatic women during the “window” of opportunity (under 60 years of age or within 10 years from menopause) may significantly counteract the aging process at many targets of the female body. In the meantime, an individualized menopause hormone therapy (MHT) may help postmenopausal women to overcome the burden of symptoms, including those related to the genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
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Nappi, R.E., Cucinella, L. (2020). Long-Term Consequences of Menopause. In: Petraglia, F., Fauser, B. (eds) Female Reproductive Dysfunction . Endocrinology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03594-5_17-1
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