Early Menopause Tied to Osteoporosis in 29-Year Study

WEDNESDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) — Women who go through
menopause early are almost twice as likely to have the bone-thinning
disease osteoporosis later in life, new research indicates.

In addition, researchers from the Skane University Hospital in Malmo,
Sweden, noted that these women are also at greater risk for fracture and
an increased death rate.

For the study, the researchers recruited 390 white women from northern
Europe in 1977. The women, who were 48 years old at that time, were
divided into two groups: those who went through menopause before the age
of 47; and those who started menopause at age 47 or later. The women were
followed for roughly three decades. All of the women had their bone
mineral density measured.

After 29 years, only 198 women remained in the study due to deaths,
relocation or lack of participation. By this point, the women were 77
years old. The researchers re-measured their bone density and found 56
percent of the women with early menopause had osteoporosis, compared with
just 30 percent of those with later menopause.

The study also found the women who had early menopause were at greater
risk for fragility fracture and death. The early menopause group had a
mortality rate of 52 percent, compared to 35 percent among the women who
had late menopause. The rate of fractures was also 44 percent among the
women who had early menopause compared with 31 percent for women who had
late menopause.

The study, led by orthopedic surgeon Dr. Ola Svejme, was published
April 25 in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and
Gynecology
.

However, although the study uncovered an association between early
menopause and osteoporosis, it did not prove a cause-and-effect
relationship.

BJOG deputy editor-in-chief, Pierre Martin-Hirsch, pointed out
that more research on the link between early menopause and bone disease is
needed.

“The higher mortality rate in women with an early menopause needs to be
explored further as many other factors could affect this such as
medication, nutrition, smoking and alcohol consumption,” Martin-Hirsch
said in a journal news release.

More information

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about menopause.

Views: 0

You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes