Early onset of menopause (before age 40) could make women vulnerable to developing coronary heart disease throughout their lifetime.
Highlights :
- Black women are more likely to experience premature menopause than White women
- Earlier-onset menopause could be one of the predisposing factors for heart disease in women
- Women who attain menopause earlier pose a 40% higher risk of contracting heart disease even after taking significant co-morbidities into account
The Black and White women were categorized into two main groups, which were further sub-categorized as women who experienced premature menopause and women who did not experience it prematurely.
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What does premature menopause mean?
The study defined early-onset menopause as before the age of 40, indicating hormonal changes in the body led to menopause earlier than normal. The medical cause of premature menopause is premature ovarian failure. Common symptoms of premature menopause include mood swings, vaginal dryness, and hot flashes.The study on pooling data from six nationwide study groups revealed that,
- Compared with White women, Black women were more likely to attain menopause at an early age, 15.5% vs. 4.8% respectively.
- Among the participants of the study, the likelihood of developing coronary heart disease is 40% higher in women who experienced premature menopause than the women who did not experience it, even after adjusting for some known confounding factors for CHD such as smoking, elevated blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, and obesity.
What does this imply?
“If a woman experiences menopause before the age of 40, she should let her doctor know so they can be more proactive about optimizing her cardiovascular health – such as weight management and blood pressure - throughout her mid-life years and preventing heart disease over the course of her lifetime. This is an area where there is a big need for personalized, preventive cardiology care for women focused on lowering cardiovascular risk,” said lead study author Priya M. Freaney, M.D., a third-year cardiology fellow at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.Ways To Prevent Coronary Heart Disease
- Stay stress-free
- Keep blood pressure and diabetes under control
- Stick to a healthy diet plan
- Give up smoking and alcohol
- Be more physically active
Source-Medindia