UMass Chan Medical School Faculty Publications

Title

Duration of the menopausal transition is longer in women with young age at onset: the multiethnic Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine

Publication Date

2017-02-01

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Women's Health

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The menopausal transition (MT) is a critical period associated with physiologic changes that influence women's long-term health and longevity. Information is, however, limited regarding factors that influence age at the onset of the MT and its duration (ie, time from MT onset to the final menstrual period).

METHODS: We analyzed data for 1,145 women from four sites of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation who participated in the menstrual calendar substudy, had the start of the MT identified, and had no missing covariate information. Participants included from four racial/ethnic groups: African American, white, Chinese, and Japanese. Women completed daily menstrual calendars from 1996 to 2006 and questions on hormone therapy use monthly. Baseline measures included education, economic strain, and menstrual cycle characteristics. Annual measures included height, weight, and smoking status. Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS: The adjusted median duration of the MT ranged from 4.37 years among the oldest age-at-onset quartile to 8.57 years among the youngest age-at-onset quartile (P < 0.001). Cigarette smoking was associated with an earlier onset (P < 0.001) and a shorter duration (P < 0.001). African American women had a longer duration (P = 0.012) than white women. Body mass index was associated with a later onset of the MT (P = 0.001) but not its duration.

CONCLUSIONS: The duration of the MT was largely influenced by the age at which it began: earlier onset was associated with a longer transition. This finding provides a strong rationale for developing improved markers of the onset of the early MT.

DOI of Published Version

10.1097/GME.0000000000000736

Source

Menopause. 2017 Feb;24(2):142-149. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000000736. Link to article on publisher's site

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Menopause (New York, N.Y.) conference travel support from the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. NS has stock options in Menogenix and investigator initiated grant support Bayer Inc. PGT has received research support from Pfizer.

PubMed ID

27676632

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