Calcium and vitamin D supplements after menopause can improve women's cholesterol profiles. And much of that effect is tied to raising vitamin D levels, finds a new study from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) published online in Menopause.[1]

Whether calcium or vitamin D can indeed improve cholesterol levels has been debated. And studies of women taking the combination could not separate the effects of calcium from those of vitamin D on cholesterol. But this study, led by NAMS Board of Trustees member Peter F. Schnatz, DO, NCMP, is helping to settle those questions because it looked both at how a calcium and vitamin D supplement changed cholesterol levels and how it affected blood levels of vitamin D in postmenopausal women.

Essential menopause curriculum for medical students 
Position Statement from European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS)

The menopause, or the cessation of the menstrual cycle, is the result of ovarian aging and is a natural event experienced by most women in their late 40s or early 50s. With increasing longevity the menopause can now be considered to be a midlife event. Thus managing postmenopausal health is a key issue for all health professionals, not just gynaecologists.