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Effects of different exercise modes on the risk factors of arteriosclerosis in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and network meta-analysis

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 39, pages 601–618 (2025)Cite this article

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Abstract

Arteriosclerosis is one of the most common diseases that progresses to cardiovascular disease in ageing postmenopausal women. Early changes away from the poor lifestyle choices and the active management of risk factors can improve the survival of postmenopausal women. A network meta-analysis was performed to compare the effects of different exercise modes on the risk factors for arteriosclerosis in postmenopausal women. The primary outcomes were systolic and diastolic blood pressure, whereas the secondary outcomes included flow-mediated dilation (FMD), brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein. Randomised controlled trials on the effects of exercise on arteriosclerosis in postmenopausal women were identified in 10 databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Web of Science, EBSCO, CNKI, SinoMed, VIP, Wanfang Data, and Wanfang Med Online). Sixty-four studies (2460 particpants) were eventually included. Among postmenopausal women with hypertension, continuous aerobic exercise (CAE) was most effective in reducing systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Among those without hypertension, high-intensity interval training was the most effective in lowering blood pressure and increasing FMD, whereas CAE combined with resistance training was most beneficial in reducing baPWV. Exercise prescriptions for postmenopausal women should be tailored according to their blood pressure status to ensure the selection of the most suitable exercise modality and to maximize the effectiveness of the intervention. Trial registration: PROSPERO, registration number: CRD42022337536.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2: The results of blood pressure in postmenopausal women.
Fig. 3: The results of blood pressure in postmenopausal women with hypertension.
Fig. 4: The results of blood pressure in postmenopausal women without hypertension.
Fig. 5: The results of vascular function in postmenopausal women without hypertension.
Fig. 6: Funnel plots for the primary outcome indicators.

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Data availability

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Grant No. 2022YFC2010201), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2024TNJN002).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China

    Jin Li, Peizhen Zhang & Yuting Yang

  2. Key Laboratory for Performance Training & Recovery of General Administration of Sport, Beijing Sport University, Beijing, China

    Peizhen Zhang

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  1. Jin Li
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  2. Peizhen Zhang
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  3. Yuting Yang
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Contributions

Conceptualization: JL, PZZ, YTY. Data curation: JL, YTY. Formal Analysis: JL. Funding acquisition: PZZ. Investigation: JL, YTY. Methodology: JL, PZZ. Project administration: JL. Resources: JL. Software: JL, YTY. Supervision: PZZ. Writing-original draft: JL, PZZ, YTY. Writing-review & editing: PZZ, JL.

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Correspondence to Peizhen Zhang.

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Li, J., Zhang, P. & Yang, Y. Effects of different exercise modes on the risk factors of arteriosclerosis in postmenopausal women: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. J Hum Hypertens 39, 601–618 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41371-025-01064-y

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