Why the study?
Although postmenopausal HRT and physical exercise both show cardioprotective benefits individually, the effects of their combination remain inconclusive.
Does combined physical exercise and hormone replacement therapy improve cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women compared to isolated treatments or placebo?
Does combined physical exercise and hormone replacement therapy improve cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women compared to isolated treatments or placebo?
While the combination of aerobic training and oral HRT improves systolic blood pressure in postmenopausal women, aerobic training alone appears more effective for improving diastolic blood pressure and physical fitness.
Combined HRT-exercise effects on postmenopausal CV-metabolic health remain inconclusive; leaves open optimal regimens for dedicated RCTs.
The cardioprotective effect of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been demonstrated in several studies. Similarly, physical exercise has yielded positive results. However, the effects of their combination remain inconclusive. This review describes the combined effects of physical exercise and hormone therapy on cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women. We searched the Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Embase databases and included randomized controlled trials published up to December 2021 on the combined effects of physical exercise and hormone therapy on cardiovascular and metabolic health in postmenopausal women. We identified 148 articles, of which only seven met the inclusion criteria (386 participants; 91 [23%] HRT + exercise; 104 [27%] HRT; 103 [27%] exercise; 88 [23%] placebo). The combined treatment further decreased systolic blood pressure (SBP) compared to the isolated effect of aerobic training (AT) (mean difference [MD]=-1.69; 95% confidence interval [CI]=-2.65 to -0.72, n=73). Nevertheless, it attenuated the decrease in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (MD=0.78; 95%CI: 0.22-1.35, n=73), and the increase in peak oxygen consumption (VO2 peak) promoted by exercise (AT + HRT=2.8±1.4 vs AT + placebo=5.8±3.4, P=0.02). The combination of AT and oral HRT improved SBP. However, AT alone seemed to have a better effect on physical fitness and DBP in postmenopausal women.
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Delgado et al. (2023) studied this question.
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