Evidence library · Inflammation

Does general physical activity affect inflammation in menopause? What 6 studies found

Studies of general physical activity in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women that measured inflammation. 4 reported an improvement and 1 found no difference against the comparison group.

  1. A meta-analysis of 34 RCTs found exercise of at least eight weeks reduced CRP, TNF-alpha and IL-6, and increased adiponectin in postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,229 participants pooled · 8 weeks · 2023PostmenopausalCited 25 timesPubMed

  2. A meta-analysis of 30 RCTs in overweight or obese postmenopausal women found structured exercise reduced inflammatory markers TNF-alpha and CRP, with higher intensity linked to greater TNF-alpha reduction.

    Reported an improvementMeta-analysis · 2,124 participants pooled · 2026PostmenopausalPubMed

  3. In over 27,000 healthy US women averaging age 55, lower self-reported physical activity was linked to worse cholesterol and inflammatory marker levels, though body weight mattered more.

    Reported a worseningCross-sectional study · 27,158 women · 2006Midlife womenCited 247 timesPubMed

  4. Postmenopausal women with rheumatoid arthritis did a 4-month sedentary-behavior reduction program; it did not change sedentary time, activity, or most cardiometabolic and quality of life measures.

    No difference foundRandomised trial · 103 women · 16 weeks · 2025PostmenopausalCited 2 timesPubMed

  5. In 851 postmenopausal women aged 45 to 64, higher leisure physical activity was linked to higher HDL cholesterol and lower insulin and fibrinogen levels, with no link to blood pressure.

    Reported an improvementCross-sectional study · 851 women · 1996PostmenopausalCited 44 timesPubMed

  6. In 133 postmenopausal women, higher physical activity was linked to lower CRP levels, but this association was explained by lower body fat in more active women.

    Reported an improvementCross-sectional study · 133 women · 2003PostmenopausalCited 29 timesPubMed

How to read this. Each line is one study, summarised in plain language from its PubMed abstract, with the authors' own sentence underneath on the study page. A count of studies is not a verdict: trials differ in size, length and quality, and a result in one group of women may not hold in another. Nothing here is medical advice.

Summaries are generated, then checked by machine against the abstract they came from; any summary that could not be matched word for word was left out. Our clinical lead is reviewing the summaries topic by topic, and this note will change when that is done. Corpus last refreshed 2026-11-03. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix the summary or remove the study.

Other exercise types and inflammation