The Metabolic Syndrome and Menopause

Most women spend almost a third of their lives living with a hidden, unaddressed, yet regular experience, known as menopause. At least 60% of women have mild symptoms, 20% have severe symptoms, and 20% have none. However, with a lack of awareness into what menopause truly entails and how to help reduce its impact, many women find themselves with increased emotional distress due to its symptoms and subsequent disruptions to different areas of daily life, such as the workplace. For example, in a survey of 300,000 staff conducted by major UK banks, approximately 13% were women over the age of 50. This means that more than 100,000 employees could be experiencing menopause. Many organisations are currently not providing support for women going through menopause, which holds them back from attaining top positions and undeniably limits gender equality. Consequently, menopause must be understood to help improve quality of life, remove the stigma and myths that surround it, and bring awareness of the options available to effectively manage and control its symptoms.

After reaching menopause, many women are likely to develop MetS, a combination of an imbalance of various components in the body, including increased blood pressure, belly fat, cholesterol, lipids, and blood sugar. These symptoms can lead to an additional risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Evidence suggests that after menopause, over 38% of women have a higher risk of MetS occurring. Therefore, it is vital that there is an awareness about this syndrome to help aid women’s health, lifestyle, and comfort.

1. Fat migrates to the middle of the body, causing an increase in abnormal cholesterol and lipid levels.
2. A resistance to insulin in the blood leads to a condition called hyperinsulinemia. Insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar, and abnormal levels can further lead to conditions such as type 2 diabetes, which is also a risk factor for CVD.
3. Hypertension and chronic inflammation are also associated with MetS; high blood pressure can lead to further changes such as an increase in inflammatory mediators, further causing a cascade of other reactions that lead to CVD, if unmanaged.

The way to develop treatments for MetS is to focus on reversing the symptoms. A reduction in hormone levels is thought to be one of the numerous causes of these imbalances; therefore, menopausal hormone therapy is a solution that can increase leptin, oestrogen, and other needed compounds to reduce inflammatory cascades and lure the system back to metabolic homeostasis. However, despite multiple studies which have shown beneficial effects of MHT, it is currently not recommended as a prevention strategy for metabolic disorders in menopause because of its associated greater risk of breast cancer, stroke, and blood clots.

Alongside medical treatments for MetS, prevention of risk factors is also recommended to women before, during, and after menopause. As some of the risk factors allude to obesity and increased lipid and sugar levels, lifestyle changes can help control that aspect. Adding more physical activity in combination with healthy eating, sleeping, and other healthy lifestyle choices (avoiding smoking and alcohol) can be the first step to help reduce some of the risk factors associated with MetS. However, this is not sufficient to tackle most of the conditions associated with METs alone. Additional pharmacological treatment of insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidaemia, or hypertension are still required.

Although there are options for treatment, it seems that there is still insufficient knowledge available to curb MetS fully in women with menopause. This lack of information is also why research is still needed, with many women not fully understanding what the disease involves. 45% of women surveyed in the UK stated that they did not know the differences between the various stages of menopause. Meanwhile, 73% also indicated that they were not presently addressing their menopausal symptoms due to lack of information, fear, and distractions from daily living. Many women also feel the need to hide their condition from their employers; in a survey from Vodaphone, a third of their employees admitted to concealing symptoms and feeling a stigma around openly talking about it.

Two laws apply to menopause. The Equality Act of 2010, and the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974. Both protect women from discrimination and are intended to assist employers in prioritising a healthy and safe workplace. However, because menopause is typically considered as a disability claim rather than a gender claim, many instances of discrimination brought forward by women have failed. There are no effective laws requiring employers to protect employees undergoing menopause, nor is there legal protection for companies affected by their employees’ symptoms restricting their ability to work. Advocation is needed for menopause to be recognised by the law in the same way as pregnancy rights; the absence of legal support and advice for women suffering from menopause in the workplace is disappointing.