The relation of age at menarche with age at natural menopause: a population study of 336 788 women in Norway

AbstractSTUDY QUESTIONIs age at menarche associated with age at menopause or with duration of the reproductive period (interval between menarche and menopause)?SUMMARY ANSWERThe association of age at menarche with age at menopause was weak and non-linear, and the duration of the reproductive period decreased by increasing age at menarche.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYIt remains uncertain whether age at menarche is associated with age at menopause. Some studies report that women with early menarche also have early menopause. Other studies report that women with early menarche have late menopause, or they report no association. The duration of the reproductive period may be an indicator of the cumulative endogenous exposure to estrogens and progestogens during life course and is associated with risk of breast cancer and endometrial cancer.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONA retrospective cohort study of 336 788 women, aged 48 –71 years, in the BreastScreen Norway during the years 2006–2014 was performed.PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSInformation about age at menarche and menopausal status was obtained by self-administered questionnaires. We used time to event approaches to estimate the associations.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEMedian age at menopause was 51 years in most menarche groups. Women with menarche at age 16 years or age ≥ 17 years had menopause 1 year later [median: 52 years, interquartile range (IQR): 49–54 years] than women with menarche at age 13 years (med...
Source: Human Reproduction - Category: Reproduction Medicine Source Type: research