Living Near Green Spaces may Delay Your Menopause

Does living near green spaces postpone the onset of menopause? Yes, menopause may get delayed naturally if one lives in greener neighborhoods.

Highlights:

Living in and around green spaces may postpone the natural onset of menopause
Women who live in greener neighborhoods tend to have lower cortisol levels
Having lower cortisol levels may allow them to maintain higher levels of estradiol, which may delay menopause

Staying close to green spaces can delay your menopause naturally, reports a new study. The findings of the study are published in the journal Environment International.//

Living near green spaces is associated with a wide variety of benefits, including a lower risk of obesity, improved attention capacity in children and slower physical decline in old age.

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‘Does living near green spaces postpone the onset of menopause? Yes, menopause may get delayed naturally if one lives in greener neighborhoods.’
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Now, for the first time, a study led by the University of Bergen and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by "la Caixa", has found that living in a greener neighborhood is also associated with older age at the onset of menopause.

Details of the Study

The study analyzed data on 1,955 women from nine countries (Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Sweden, Estonia, Iceland and Norway) who took part in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Over a 20-year period, participants completed questionnaires on their health and lifestyle factors and underwent blood sampling. The availability and extent of green space in their neighborhoods was also calculated.

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Findings of the Study

The study found that women living in neighborhoods with little green space became menopausal 1.4 years earlier than those in living in the greenest areas. On average, age at menopause was 51.7 years for women living in the greenest areas, compared with 50.3 years for women living in areas with little green space.

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In addition to genetic factors, age at menopause is influenced by lifestyle factors such as smoking, obesity, physical activity and the use of oral contraceptives. A number of biological processes could explain the association between green space and older age at menopause.

"We know that stress increases the level of cortisol in the blood, and numerous studies have shown that exposure to green spaces reduces it," explained Kai Triebner, postdoctoral visiting researcher at ISGlobal and lead author of the study.

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"Low cortisol levels have been associated with increased levels of estradiol, an important female sex hormone. Perhaps women who live near green space have lower cortisol levels, which would allow them to maintain higher levels of estradiol, which may in turn delay the onset of menopause."

He added: "Exposure to green space is also associated with a lower risk of certain mental health conditions, such as depression, which is also associated with younger age at menopause."

Reference:

Residential surrounding greenspace and age at menopause: A 20-year European study (ECRHS) - (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105088)

Source-Eurekalert