Diabetes and Menopause

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Rossi R, Cioni E, Nuzzo A, et al.: Endothelial-dependent vasodilation and incidence of type 2 diabetes in a population of healthy postmenopausal women. Diabetes Care 28:702-707, 2005.

What is the problem and what is known about it so far?

Menopause is the point in a woman's life when her menstrual periods stop. A woman who goes through menopause can no longer get pregnant. Menopause is when the female sex organs stop producing sex hormones -- a process that begins about 3 to 5 years before her final menstrual period. Menopause is considered complete when a woman hasn't had a period for one year. For most women this occurs around age 50.

People with diabetes or women who have already had menopause are more likely to have problems with the cells that line their blood vessels and arteries; these cells are called the endothelium. People who have problems with these cells have endothelial dysfunction, and are more likely to get atherosclerosis (when arteries thicken and harden), which can cause a stroke or heart attack.

There seems to be a link between diabetes and endothelial dysfunction in blood vessels and arteries, but researchers aren't sure whether endothelial dysfunction is a cause or a result of having diabetes.

Why did the researchers do this particular study?

Many people with diabetes have problems with the cells that line blood vessels and arteries, but these problems are also often found in women without diabetes who have already had menopause. The researchers wanted to know more about the link between these problems and diabetes in women who had undergone menopause. They wanted to compare cell function of the arteries and blood vessels between those women who originally did not have diabetes (but eventually got diabetes by study's end) and women who did not get diabetes by the study's end.

Who was studied?

The researchers studied 840 healthy women who had already gone through menopause. They were ages 47 through 59 years and did not have diabetes at the start of the study. The women had check-ups over a 4-year time span.

How was the study done?

The researchers measured blood flow and how well the cells of the blood vessels and arteries functioned. After the first measurement, the women were contacted by telephone every 3 months and were seen every 6 months in a clinic, where they were interviewed, had a physical examination, and blood tests. The researchers recorded how many of them got diabetes.

What did the researchers find?

Researchers found that 102 women got diabetes during the study. Women with diabetes were more likely to have problems with blood flow and the cells that lined the blood vessels and arteries. This shows that problems with the cells that line the body's blood vessels and arteries play a big part in getting diabetes.

What were the limitations of the study?

There is no way to know whether the women had other illnesses that may have caused diabetes and problems with the cells that line the blood vessels and arteries.

What are the implications of the study?

Problems with the cells lining the blood vessels and arteries might play a role in getting diabetes. Women who've had menopause and have problems with the cells that line their blood vessels and arteries should be closely checked for other complications that can lead to diabetes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Women & Diabetes: Staying Healthy in Body, Mind, and Spirit, 2nd ed. , by Laurinda M. Poirier and Katharine M. Coburn ( Alexandria , VA , ADA , 2000)

Transdermal 17-ß-Estradiol and Risk of Developing Type 2 Diabetes in a Population of Healthy, Nonobese Postmenopausal Women, by R. Rosario, G. Origliani, and M.G. Modena Diabetes Care 27:645–649, 2004