Does exercise with hormone therapy affect muscle mass in menopause? What 13 studies found

Women aged 50 to 57 did 12 months of high-impact exercise with or without hormone therapy; combined exercise plus hormones increased knee strength, jump height and muscle area more than either alone.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 80 women · 52 weeks · 2001Early postmenopausalCited 169 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women aged 50 to 57 did a year of high-impact lower-limb training with or without hormone therapy, with jump height and running speed improving in hormone and combined groups.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 51 women · 52 weeks · 2005Early postmenopausalCited 99 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women aged 40 to 66 did a 1 year supervised resistance training program and gained lean mass and strength, with fat loss seen mainly in those also on hormone therapy.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 233 women · 52 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 55 timesPubMed

Postmenopausal women who did 12 months of resistance and weight-bearing aerobic exercise gained lean mass and lost leg fat, regardless of hormone therapy use or changes in hormone levels.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 94 women · 52 weeks · 2003PostmenopausalCited 63 timesPubMed

A meta-analysis of postmenopausal women found physical exercise training reduced fat mass compared to placebo, and combining hormone therapy with exercise best reduced fat mass while preserving lean mass.

No difference foundMeta-analysis · 2022PostmenopausalPubMed

14 postmenopausal women, some on hormone therapy, did eccentric leg exercise, and those on hormone therapy showed a greater muscle-building gene response afterward.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 14 women · 2009PostmenopausalCited 66 timesPubMed

In early postmenopausal women doing 12 weeks of resistance training, those also given transdermal estrogen gained more muscle mass and fat-free mass than those on placebo.

Reported an improvementRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 2020Early postmenopausalCited 41 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 did a year of power training or hormone therapy; both reduced an age related gene expression change linked to muscle loss, with effects on muscle cross-sectional area.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 27 women · 52 weeks · 2013PostmenopausalCited 15 timesPubMed

In postmenopausal women, 12 weeks of resistance training reduced intramuscular estradiol, testosterone and DHEA levels regardless of whether participants also received estrogen therapy.

Direction not statedRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 2022PostmenopausalCited 7 timesPubMed

Early postmenopausal women did 12 weeks of resistance training with or without estrogen therapy, and muscle satellite cell decline was counteracted only when training was combined with estrogen.

Mixed resultsRandomised trial · 31 women · 12 weeks · 2023Early postmenopausalCited 6 timesPubMed

In 20 postmenopausal women, resistance exercise combined with estrogen therapy appeared to counteract lower resting muscle protein synthesis seen in estrogen users compared to non-users.

Mixed resultsControlled trial · 20 women · 2012PostmenopausalCited 59 timesPubMed

A review of postmenopausal women found estrogen or soy isoflavones combined with exercise training may increase bone mineral density more than either alone, and slightly increased lean mass.

Reported an improvementOther · 2008PostmenopausalCited 19 timesPubMed