title: Iron and menopause: does increased iron affect the health of postmenopausal women?
abstract: Estrogen deficiency has been regarded as the main causative factor in menopausal symptoms and diseases. Here, we show that although estrogen decreases by 90%, a concurrent but inverse change occurs in iron levels during menopausal transition. For example, levels of serum ferritin are increased by two- to threefold from before menopause to after menopause. This observation has led us to hypothesize that, in addition to estrogen deficiency, increased iron as a result of menopause could be a risk factor affecting the health of postmenopausal women. Further studies on iron and menopause are clinically relevant and may provide novel therapeutic treatments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Medicine, NYU School of Medicine , New York, USA.
authors.forename: Jinlong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jian
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pelle
authors.forename: Xi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism*; D017698:Postmenopause; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D007501:Iron