The Impact of Estrogen Deficiency on Liver Metabolism: Implications for Hormone Replacement Therapy.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of preclinical mechanisms and clinical context without systematic search or meta-analysis
PubMed 40522859 · doi:10.1210/endrev/bnaf018
What was done
This narrative review synthesized literature on the burden of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in women, the mechanistic consequences of postmenopausal estrogen deficiency across liver, adipose, and skeletal muscle tissues, and the potential role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
What was found
The abstract reports no primary quantitative data or statistical effect estimates. It notes MASLD affects 1 in 3 individuals globally and increases in prevalence and severity after menopause. While preclinical evidence demonstrates that estrogen loss promotes hepatic lipid accumulation, insulin resistance, and fibrosis, clinical data examining HRT's impact on MASLD in postmenopausal women remain scarce.
Why it matters
As HRT adoption increases, identifying how estrogen modulation affects liver metabolism could inform targeted, sex-specific prevention and therapeutic strategies for postmenopausal MASLD.
Limits
The abstract describes a narrative review largely based on preclinical data and general epidemiological observations, without systematic search methods, risk-of-bias evaluation, or primary clinical outcome trials evaluating HRT for MASLD.
Cited by
- supports Estrogen depletion or estrogen-blocking medication causes increased insulin resistance and metabolic compromise.