A meta-analysis of seven trials in postmenopausal women found combined aerobic exercise and hormone therapy lowered systolic blood pressure more than aerobic exercise alone, but exercise alone improved fitness more.
Mixed resultsMeta-analysis · 386 participants pooled · 2023PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did a moderate exercise program with or without estrogen for 6 months, and exercise alone reduced cholesterol and LDL and increased fitness.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 101 women · 26 weeks · 1994PostmenopausalCited 60 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women on hormone therapy did 6 weeks of submaximal aerobic exercise three times weekly and showed improved strength, endurance, flexibility, balance and quality of life versus controls.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 81 women · 6 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 48 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 65 plus took ultra-low-dose estrogen or placebo with calcium and vitamin D for 3 years, with no change found in muscle mass, body fat or physical performance.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 167 women · 156 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 40 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women aged 60 to 72 did 11 months of endurance exercise, hormone therapy, both, or neither, and exercise lowered total and LDL cholesterol while HRT raised HDL cholesterol.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 71 women · 44 weeks · 1996PostmenopausalCited 57 timesPubMed
Healthy postmenopausal women took cyclic hormone therapy for 3 months and researchers found it increased peripheral blood flow during exercise but did not improve peak oxygen uptake or exercise tolerance.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 2004PostmenopausalCited 24 timesPubMed
Healthy postmenopausal women walked for 12 weeks with or without hormone therapy, and both groups showed improved peak oxygen uptake regardless of hormone use.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 23 women · 12 weeks · 2009PostmenopausalCited 19 timesPubMed
In a 9-year follow-up of peri-menopausal women from an exercise trial, hormone therapy use, not the original exercise program, was linked to maintained bone mineral content, while fitness declined with age regardless.
Reported a worseningRandomised trial · 80 women · 468 weeks · 2005PerimenopausalCited 16 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women did 6 months of cycle ergometer aerobic training with or without estrogen therapy, and aerobic training prevented the daytime blood pressure rise seen with estrogen alone.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 47 women · 26 weeks · 2011PostmenopausalCited 12 timesPubMed
Postmenopausal women with coronary disease who walked for 26 weeks of cardiac rehab increased peak oxygen uptake by 15%, with similar results whether or not they used hormone therapy.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 38 women · 26 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 8 timesPubMed
Healthy postmenopausal women took estrogen or placebo for 12 weeks in a crossover trial, and estrogen did not improve treadmill exercise tolerance, oxygen uptake, or blood pressure response to exercise.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 1996PostmenopausalCited 10 timesPubMed
In postmenopausal women without cardiac disease, a crossover trial found oral estrogen had no significant effect on heart rate, blood pressure or treadmill exercise echocardiography measures.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 1997PostmenopausalCited 14 timesPubMed
Eleven active postmenopausal women on oral or transdermal estrogen did 45-minute exercise tests; estradiol rose during exercise only with transdermal estrogen, growth hormone, cortisol and insulin changed in both.
Direction not statedRandomised trial · 11 women · 2002PostmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed
Sedentary postmenopausal women took oral estrogen or placebo for 90 days and underwent exercise testing, with researchers finding estrogen did not improve exercise capacity.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 23 women · 13 weeks · 2005PostmenopausalCited 4 timesPubMed
In healthy postmenopausal women, 6 months of cycle ergometer aerobic training increased oxygen uptake at peak exercise, but the gain was smaller in women also taking oral estrogen therapy.
Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 42 women · 26 weeks · 2014PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed
In 23 postmenopausal women aged 44 to 75, 4 weeks of estrogen therapy lowered LDL and raised HDL cholesterol but did not change heart rate or blood pressure responses during treadmill exercise overall.
No difference foundRandomised trial · 23 women · 4 weeks · 1999PostmenopausalCited 1 timesPubMed
In 378 postmenopausal women across four intervention studies including hormones, exercise and nutrition, those classified as weak gained more grip strength and physical performance over six months.
Reported an improvementOther · 378 women · 26 weeks · 2015PostmenopausalCited 40 timesPubMed