How Women's Bodies Change with Age: The Role of Hormones

Women tend to live longer than men, but they often face more health challenges in their later years. To understand why, researchers studied 96 women aged 18 to 80. They looked at body composition, muscle strength, and hormone levels. As women age, their muscle mass and strength decrease. This happens because muscle fibers shrink and change. The study found that older women have more hybrid muscle fibers, which are a mix of two types. This change might make muscles weaker. The study also looked at genes in muscle tissue. It found that aging affects how genes work. Older muscles show more activity in genes related to immune response and less in those related to energy production. Hormones play a big role in these changes. Estrogen and progesterone levels were linked to muscle mass and strength. Testosterone, however, did not show a strong connection. This suggests that female hormones influence muscle health as women age. After menopause, estrogen's effect on muscles seems to decrease. This is because estrogen receptors in muscles become less active. This could explain why muscle loss speeds up after menopause. The study highlights the need for more research. It's not yet clear if hormones directly cause muscle loss. More studies are needed to find out how to keep women's muscles strong as they age.