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Probiotics and Prebiotics: Any Role in Menopause-Related Diseases?

  • 2023-02-07
  • Current nutrition reports 12(1)
    • Luigi Barrea
    • Ludovica Verde
    • Renata Simona Auriemma
    • Claudia Vetrani
    • Mauro Cataldi
    • Evelyn Frias-Toral
    • Gabriella Pugliese
    • Elisabetta Camajani
    • Silvia Savastano
    • Annamaria Colao
    • Giovanna Muscogiuri

Study Design

Type
Review
Population
postmenopausal women
Methods
review of menopause-related changes in microbiota and evidence on probiotic supplementation as a therapeutic strategy

Purpose of review

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the menopause-related changes in microbiota and their role in the pathogenesis of menopause-related diseases. In addition, evidence on probiotic supplementation as a therapeutic strategy is discussed.

Recent findings

The human microbiota is a complex community that lives in a mutualism relationship with the host. Menopause is associated with dysbiosis, and these changes in the composition of microbiota in different sites (gut, vaginal, and oral microbiota) might play a role in the pathogenesis of menopause-related diseases (i.e., osteoporosis, breast cancer, endometrial hyperplasia, periodontitis, and cardiometabolic diseases). The present review highlights the pivotal role of microbiota in postmenopausal women health, in particular it (a) may increase intestinal calcium absorption thus preventing osteoporosis, (b) is associated with reduced risk of breast cancer and type 1 endometrial hyperplasia, (c) reduces gingival inflammation and menopausal periodontitis, and (d) beneficially affects multiple cardiometabolic risk factors (i.e., obesity, inflammation, and blood glucose and lipid metabolism). However, whether oral probiotic supplementation might be used for the treatment of menopause-related dysbiosis requires further clarification.

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