Gut changes begin well before menopause: markers of intestinal barrier damage rise as early as 2.5 years before the final menstrual period, reports infohub.kz.
According to the SWAN study, the menopausal transition is associated with a sustained increase in blood levels of markers of intestinal epithelial barrier disruption and bacterial antigen translocation into the bloodstream. The results were published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. As levels of sex steroid hormones decline, the number of tight junction proteins in the gut decreases, increasing permeability and causing low-grade systemic inflammation.
In the study, researchers analyzed data from 964 women in the SWAN Bone Cohort, including Caucasian, African American, Chinese, and Japanese women. They examined 3,546 repeated measurements of two blood proteins: FABP2 (a marker of intestinal mucosal damage) and sCD14 (an indirect marker of exposure to Gram-negative bacterial products).
The analysis showed that FABP2 levels began to rise sharply 2.5 years before the final menstrual period, and sCD14 levels began to rise 2 years before. The increase continued for about nine years, slowing only 6–6.5 years after menopause, after which levels stabilized at a high plateau. On average, during the menopausal transition, FABP2 levels increased by 26.3% and sCD14 by 7.5%. The changes were observed in women of all racial and ethnic groups. The authors suggest that targeted interventions, including probiotics, may in the future help prevent such gut changes.