Insulin resistance and postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy

Insulin resistance causes hyperglycemia by disturbing glucose uptake in the tissues and increasing hepatic glucose production. Hyperinsulinemia has a predictive role in the generation of type 2 diabetes in nondiabetic individuals. Both insulin resistance and the associated disturbances are responsible for increased cardiovascular risk. Women of reproductive age are protected from cardiovascular disease although in the postmenopausal period the risk becomes equal to that in men and exceeds that in men later on. This observation leads us to consider the role of estrogen deficiency in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is a successful method in the management of certain clinical situations in postmenopausal women. The interactions among estrogen, menopause, and cardiovascular risk bring forth the question of whether the HRT affects insulin resistance or not. The studies so far have yielded controversial results. The overall results of recent reports indicate that postmenopausal HRT improves insulin resistance. However, the available evidence is not strong enough to suggest the use of postmenopausal HRT as a first-line therapeutic measure in the management of insulin resistance.