Effects of Curcumin on Postmenopausal Women's Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To evaluate curcumin's impact on postmenopausal women's health through a meta-analysis. The databases searched included PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science, from their inception to July 2024. The Cochrane risk of Bias assessment tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. This meta-analysis reviewed 14 randomized controlled trials involving 982 participants (466 in the intervention group and 516 in the control group) and evaluated curcumin's effects across 30 indicators grouped into cardiovascular health, oxidative stress and antioxidant markers, bone health, metabolic health, and quality of life. We found that curcumin reduced systolic (SMD -0.51, 95% CI -0.83 to 0.19, p = 0.002) and diastolic blood pressure (SMD -0.63, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.30, p = 0.005), increased total antioxidant capacity (SMD 0.93, 95% CI 0.15 to 1.72, p = 0.020) and superoxide dismutase levels (SMD 0.30, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.56, p = 0.026), decreased aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (SMD -0.36, 95% CI -0.66 to -0.06, p = 0.020), and improved vasomotor (SMD -0.39, 95% CI -0.65 to -0.13, p = 0.003) symptoms. Curcumin positively impacts several indicators in postmenopausal women, highlighting its potential therapeutic role in managing cardiovascular risk factors, oxidative stress, hepatoprotective effects, and vasomotor symptoms. Due to variations in the purity and dosages across different studies and the lack of combinable data for certain indicators, the conclusions are still limited. These issues can be addressed through more comprehensive large-scale trials later. A more in-depth investigation into the mechanisms is also crucial.