In women with type 1 or type 2 diabetes with menopausal symptoms, hormone therapy (HT) is “expected to have a neutral-to-beneficial impact on glucose regulation,” conclude authors of a systematic review and meta-analysis. “Evidence for the effect of postmenopausal HT in women with type 1 diabetes was limited.”
The analysis focused on women who were 12 months or more past their last menstrual period and looked at the effects of HT on HbA1c, fasting glucose, postprandial glucose, and use of glucose-lowering drugs. “Nineteen [randomized controlled trials] were included (12 parallel-group trials and 7 crossover trials), with a total of 1,412 participants, of whom 4.0% had type 1 diabetes,” the authors write. “HT reduced HbA1c(mean difference −0.56% [95% CI −0.80, −0.31], −6.08 mmol/mol [95% CI −8.80, −3.36]) and fasting glucose (mean difference −1.15 mmol/L [95% CI −1.78, −0.51]).”
