How A Mediterranean Diet Helps Women Manage Menopausal Symptoms

New investigation shows that women pursuing a modified Mediterranean fare were acold little apt to study disruptive basking flashes and intersexual discomfort, pointing to fare arsenic a promising non-hormonal attack to menopausal well-being.

Study: Association betwixt modified Mediterranean fare people and menopause-specific value of life and symptoms: a cross-sectional study. Image Credit: Nina Jovic / Shutterstock

In a caller study successful nan journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigated associations betwixt adherence to a modified Mediterranean fare and nan severity of common, yet disruptive, menopausal symptoms (e.g., basking flashes, intersexual discomfort). The cross-sectional study progressive 149 postmenopausal women (eligible aged 40+ years; observed aged 42–63 years) and utilized a validated 117-item nutrient wave questionnaire.

Study findings revealed that participants who adhered astir intimately to nan Mediterranean fare were importantly little apt to acquisition mean to terrible vasomotor (hot flashes; -80% lower) and mild to terrible intersexual symptoms (-83% lower) than those who adhered least. Mean MENQOL and domain scores did not disagree importantly crossed Mediterranean-diet tertiles; however, nan likelihood of mean to terrible vasomotor and intersexual symptoms were little astatine higher adherence.

This study suggests that fare whitethorn beryllium a promising instrumentality for improving menopausal well-being and whitethorn pass women and healthcare providers.

Background

Menopause refers to nan earthy and irreversible cessation of menstrual cycles successful females, typically occurring betwixt nan ages of 40 and 55. It marks a important physiological modulation and is often accompanied by a big of disruptive symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms (e.g., basking flashes, nighttime sweats), arsenic good arsenic psychological, physical, and intersexual challenges.

Conventional curen interventions impact nan usage of hormone therapy. Hormone therapy is effective for vasomotor symptoms for galore women; however, non-hormonal strategies stay important for those who cannot aliases for illustration not to usage it. Modifiable behaviors (sleep quality, diet, and beingness exercise) are progressively recognized for their imaginable to meet these needs.

The Mediterranean fare (MedDiet) is simply a predominantly plant-focused dietary shape intimately resembling nan accepted diets of countries adjacent nan Mediterranean Sea (Greece, Italy, France, and Spain) and is renowned for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

The fare is characterized by a precocious intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, full grains, and patient fats, and has antecedently been associated pinch scientifically validated wellness benefits crossed a scope of physiological metrics. While it has been hypothesized and anecdotally documented to amended menopausal symptoms, systematic investigations of its effect connected nan broad spectrum of menopausal symptoms person remained underexplored.

About nan Study

This coming cross-sectional study bridges nan knowledge spread and informs women, consumers, and objective practitioners alike by investigating nan nexus betwixt dietary habits and menopausal value of life.

The study screened 452 postmenopausal women (confirmed cessation of periods for 12 months aliases more) aged 40 and supra from June 2021 to June 2022, pinch participants referred to healthcare clinics.

Of these 149 participants gathering stringent inclusion criteria (e.g., nary intelligence illness aliases autoimmune conditions, nary malignancy aliases different terrible aesculapian conditions, nary chronic smoking history, assemblage wide scale [BMI 18.5 to 40 kg/m2], nary existent hormone therapy aliases dietary supplements, nary psychiatric medications, and removal of implausible power intakes <800 aliases >4000 kcal/day) were identified, and their dietary intake complete nan preceding twelvemonth was meticulously assessed utilizing nan validated 117-item FFQ.

The General Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPAQ) was utilized to measurement participants’ activity levels, and a 117-item nutrient wave questionnaire (FFQ) was utilized to grounds and parameterize their dietary intake. From this data, each subordinate was assigned a modified Mediterranean fare people (mMDS), ranging from 0 to 9, to quantify their adherence to nan dietary pattern. In this population, nan modified people utilized nan ratio of (MUFA + PUFA) to SFA successful spot of MUFA alone, reflecting debased olive-oil intake.

Menopausal symptoms and value of life were evaluated utilizing nan Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire (29 items) to measure nan severity of symptoms crossed 4 domains: vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual. A mean to terrible denotation load was defined arsenic MENQOL point scores of 5 aliases higher.

Finally, logistic regression models were leveraged to analyse nan relation betwixt nan mMDS (categorized into tertiles) and nan likelihood of experiencing mean to terrible symptoms successful each domain. All models were adjusted for imaginable confounders, including age, years since menopause, power intake, BMI, and beingness activity, arsenic good arsenic occupation, education, marital status, and underlying disease.

Study Findings

The study revealed a strong, statistically important relation betwixt higher adherence to nan Mediterranean fare and a little severity of circumstantial menopausal symptoms. Women successful nan highest tertile of nan mMDS were observed to show substantially little consequence of mean to terrible vasomotor and intersexual symptoms compared to those successful nan lowest tertile.

Specifically, logistic regression models revealed that women successful nan highest adherence group had 80% little likelihood of experiencing mean to terrible vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes and nighttime sweats) compared to those successful nan lowest adherence group (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.20; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.064–0.658). For intersexual symptoms (such arsenic vaginal dryness and debased libido), nan effect was somewhat much pronounced, pinch 83% little likelihood of mean to terrible symptoms successful nan highest adherence group (OR 0.17; 95% CI 0.068–0.450) compared to their least-adherent counterparts.

No important associations were observed for nan psychological aliases beingness domains successful adjusted models.

Unexpectedly, mMDS demonstrated a beardown expertise to discriminate betwixt women pinch and without mediocre value of life, arsenic shown by a precocious Area Under nan Curve (AUC = 0.997) successful a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis. These ROC findings were exploratory, nan cut-points were derived without soul validation, and should beryllium interpreted cautiously.

Conclusions

While nan cross-sectional quality of nan coming study cannot found causation, its findings support further information of nan MedDiet arsenic a promising non-hormonal strategy for managing immoderate of nan astir disruptive symptoms of menopause, pinch nickname that nan grounds to day is encouraging but inconsistent, and that prospective tests are needed.