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Abstract
ContextWomen show an accelerated loss of muscle mass around menopause, possibly related to the decline in estrogen. Furthermore, the anabolic response to resistance exercise seems to be hampered in postmenopausal women.ObjectiveWe aimed to test the hypothesis that transdermal estrogen therapy (ET) amplifies the skeletal muscle response to resistance training in early postmenopausal women.DesignA double-blinded randomized controlled study.SettingDepartment of Public Health, Aarhus University, Denmark.ParticipantsThirty-one healthy, untrained postmenopausal women no more than 5 years past menopause.Intervention(s)Supervised resistance training with placebo (PLC, n = 16) or transdermal ET (n = 15) for 12 weeks.Main Outcome Measure(s)The primary outcome parameter was a cross-sectional area of quadriceps femoris measured by magnetic resonance imaging, and secondary parameters were fat-free mass (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), muscle strength, and functional tests.ResultsThe increase in muscle cross-sectional area was significantly greater in the ET group (7.9%) compared with the PLC group (3.9%) (p < 0.05). Similarly, the increase in whole-body fat-free mass was greater in the ET group (5.5%) than in the PLC group (2.9%) (p < 0.05). Handgrip strength increased in ET (p < 0.05) but did not change in the PLC group. Muscle strength parameters, jumping height, and finger strength were all improved after the training period with no difference between groups.ConclusionThe use of transdermal ET enhanced the increase in muscle mass in response to 12 weeks of progressive resistance training in early postmenopausal women.
Highlights
Menopause is defined by the permanent cessation of menstruation at an average age of 51 years
The DXA revealed a significant increase in whole-body fat-free mass (FFM) in both the estrogen replacement therapy (ET) group (41.3 ± 4.4 to 43.5 ± 4.6 kg) and the PLC group (41.6 ± 5.5 to 42.9 ± 5.4 kg) (p < 0.05)
The increase in FFM was greater in the ET group than in the PLC group (5.5 vs. 2.9%, p < 0.05) (Figure 3A)
Summary
Menopause is defined by the permanent cessation of menstruation at an average age of 51 years. The literature shows an accelerated loss of muscle mass and strength in women around the time of menopause, which is not observed in agematched men (Phillips et al, 1993). Compared with age-matched men, postmenopausal women show reduced anabolic stimuli to resistance training (Bamman et al, 2003), and the muscle protein synthesis rate in response to feeding is reduced in postmenopausal women (Smith et al, 2008). It is suggested that the observed sex differences are related to the sex hormonal changes women experience around menopause (Phillips et al, 1993; Bamman et al, 2003; Baltgalvis et al, 2010; Lowe et al, 2010; Hansen et al, 2012). Women nowadays are expected to live more than 1/3 of their life in menopause; more knowledge in this field is wanted to combat some of the degenerative changes experienced during and after the transition into menopause
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