Ovariectomy results in differential shifts in gut microbiota in low versus high aerobic capacity rats.

The increased risk for cardiometabolic disease with the onset of menopause is widely studied and likely precipitated by the decline in endogenous estradiol (E2), yet the precise mechanisms are unknown. The gut microbiome is involved in estrogen metabolism and has been linked to metabolic disease, suggesting its potential involvement in the postmenopausal phenotype. Furthermore, menopause-associated risk factors, as well as gut ecology, are altered with exercise.