PULMONARY FUNCTION IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN: A LITTERATURE REVIEW

¹CSJM University, School of Health Sciences, Kanpur, India

Background: Menopause is a natural and spontaneous process. It is described as continuous amenorrhea for 12 months without any underlying pathology. Various types of symptoms are felt by women in this phase such as: Vasomotor symptoms, sleep disturbances (insomnia, sleep apnea), depression, anxiety, mood disorders, nervousness, panic, urinary incontinence, vaginal atrophy, dyspareunia and decreased libido. In postmenopausal women along with physical changes, there can be alterations in pulmonary function. This decline is due to two reasons, first being aging and second is reduction in level of progesterone.

Purpose: The aim of the present literature review is to study the alterations in pulmonary function in postmenopausal women.

Methods: A literature search was performed using PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and Google Scholar till July 2022 with keywords of menopause post-menopausal, post menopause, after menopause, pulmonary function, respiratory function, lung function, spirometry, pulmonary function test, work of breathing, PFT, plethysmography and related terms. Only English language full text articles were reviewed to identify the current evidence.

Results: The pulmonary function is affected at a significant rate; cause being the insufficiency of ovarian hormones. Menopause was associated with the accelerated decline
in lung functions beyond the expected age-related decline. FEV1, EEV0.5, FEV1,FEVO.5/FVC, FEV1/FVC, FEF 25-75, FVC PEFR, FEF25-75%, FEF25%,FEF50%, FEF75% and MVV (L/min) were significantly reduced whereas FVC time was prolonged in postmenopausal women. Variability in alteration in pulmonary function was reported. Few studies reported that women tend to develop obstructive pattern of ventilatory limitation whereas a shorter reproductive lifespan was associated with abnormal lung function with a restrictive ventilatory pattern in postmenopausal women. Early cessation of menstruation is an important factor for low lung function in postmenopausal women.

Conclusions: The pulmonary function is impacted at a significant rate in postmenopausal women though, limited literature is available. Recent studies have suggested about the evident role pf spirometry values in providing quantitative measure of different functions, respiratory normal values and the nature and extent of the respiratory dysfunction. There are alterations in pulmonary parameters in postmenopausal women. Heterogeneity was observed among the findings of alterations in pulmonary function in different geographical regions. There is need for further studies with a stronger design, larger samples and multicenter studies for generating evidence on the pattern of alterations in pulmonary function in post menopausal women.

Implications: Low lung function is prevalent in post menopausal women though there is variability in alterations in pulmonary functions. Further studies are warranted to better understand the inconsistency with observational findings, and to investigate the underlying mechanisms and role of female sex hormones. lower lung function. It can be speculated that there is alterations in pulmonary parameters in postmenopausal women around the globe. Although the extent may differ across various regions, there is need for more longitudinal studies and other cross-cultural comparisons. There is also need to raise awareness to early identify the the risk of poor lung function in post-menopausal women, especially in those who have an early cessation of menstruation. Further knowledge of respiratory health in women holds interesting potential for intervention and personalized treatment.

Funding acknowledgements: Nil

Keywords:
Menopause
Respiratory health
Lung function

Topics:
Health promotion & wellbeing/healthy ageing/physical activity
Community based rehabilitation
Cardiorespiratory

Did this work require ethics approval? No

Reason: The study was a narrative review and there was no participation of any human subjects; nor any intervention was given.