Hypovitaminosis D and Metabolic Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women

Haya Abuhijleh; Dana Alkhatib; Vijay Ganji

doi:10.3390/healthcare10102026

Hypovitaminosis D and Metabolic Syndrome in Postmenopausal Women

Healthcare (Basel). 2022 Oct 14;10(10):2026. doi: 10.3390/healthcare10102026.

Authors

Haya Abuhijleh¹, Dana Alkhatib¹, Vijay Ganji¹

Affiliation

¹ Human Nutrition Department, College of Health Sciences, QU Health, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar.

Abstract

Metabolic syndrome (MetSyn) is a precursor for several cardiometabolic diseases. The prevalence of MetSyn is higher in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women. The role of vitamin D in postmenopausal women is not clearly understood. Hypovitaminosis D is more prevalent in postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal women. For this review, Pubmed, Cochrane, SCOPUS, Embase, and Google Scholar databases were searched up to August 2022. Findings from one randomized controlled trial (RCT) and ten cross-sectional studies were included in this review. Several cross-sectional studies (8 out of 10 reviewed) unequivocally demonstrated an inverse association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations and MetSyn. However, RCTs are severely lacking in the effect of vitamin D intake on the biomarkers of MetSyn and the prevalence of MetSyn. Therefore, caution should be used in recommending mega doses of vitamin D supplements for postmenopausal women because of the potential adverse effects associated with this vitamer.

Keywords: 25-hydroxyvitamin D; hypovitaminosis D; insulin resistance; metabolic syndrome; postmenopausal women.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This publication was supported by Qatar university Internal Grant No. QUST-2-CHS-2022-730. The findings reported herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.