Early puberty and childlessness are associated with an increased risk of early menopause. New research found that women who had their first periods before the age of 11 were 80 percent more prone to experiencing premature or early menopause.
Approximately one in every 10 women experiences premature menopause, according to the international study.
Early Period Associated With Early Menopause
Information on this matter is important, as women with this condition are subjected to a higher risk of developing chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, or type 2 diabetes.
The research, conducted at the University of Queensland, underlined that the risks of early or premature menopause are doubled when it comes to women who did not have children, compared to the ones who have two or more kids.
"Women with either premature or early menopause face an increased risk of chronic conditions in later life and of early death. Findings from some studies suggest that early menarche and nulliparity are associated with early menopause, however overall the evidence is mixed," noted the research.
As the research points out, getting the period early is associated with a five-fold increase in the risk of premature menopause, as well as a two-fold increase for early menopause. The results were obtained by comparison with women who started their periods at the age of 12, and who have at least two kids.
In the context of the research, not having a child was considered to be an indicator of underlying fertility issues. The women who took part in the study came from a time period when fertility was not an issue, and very few women had access to fertility treatments.
"We have to be cautious of generational differences but the results are relevant to younger generations of women where we are seeing increasingly early onset of puberty," noted Professor Gita Mishra from The University of Queensland.
The research gathered data from 51,450 postmenopausal women, who had been part of nine observational studies carried out in the UK, Australia, Scandinavia, and Japan. At the same time, for researchers to extract more significant data about women's menopause timing, a series of factors should be made public at the doctor's. Among these, the age of the woman's mother when she reached menopause, the number of kids, the lifestyle choices (such as smoking) are very relevant in establishing a series of potential causal reactions.
Menopause And Connected Conditions
The normal age at which women should typically enter menopause is around 51-52, due to the fact that the ovaries run out of eggs. Approximately 20 percent of the women will have no symptom of menopause, except for not getting their period for twelve months. At the same time, menopause happening before the age of 50 is called premature or early menopause.
"This may be due to primary ovarian insufficiency where the periods spontaneously stop, as a result of chemotherapy treatment for cancer or surgically induced menopause when the ovaries are removed," the organization Jean Hailes wrote on its website. Emotional, psychological, and physcal effects can be significant but treatment options are available to alleviate them.
