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CHD, stroke risk heightened with early menopause
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Women who enter menopause early are twice as likely to develop CHD and stroke, according to new research.
Researchers found that this association was present in patients from different ethnic backgrounds, including white, black, Chinese and Hispanic, and was independent of traditional CVD risk factors.
The study included records from 2,509 women aged 45 to 84 years included in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). Women enrolled in the study from 2000 to 2002 and were followed until 2008. The association between personal history of early menopause and future CHD and stroke was assessed. All of the women were free of CHD at baseline.
Surgical or natural early menopause (before age 46 years) was reported by 28% of women. Researchers found that the risk for CHD (HR=2.08; 95% CI, 1.17-3.7) and stroke (HR=2.19; 95% 1.11-4.32) was doubled in these women compared with women who did not experience early menopause, independent of traditional CVD disease risk factors.
“If physicians know a patient has entered menopause before her 46th birthday, they can be extra vigilant in making recommendations and providing treatments to help prevent heart attacks and stroke,” Dhananjay Vaidya, PhD, assistant professor in the division of general internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said in a press release.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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