A new study from researchers at the University of Cartagena in Columbia found that women who are diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes before the age of 45 are more likely to go through menopause at an earlier age.
The research was led by Dr. Alvaro Monterrosa-Castro, who interviewed 6,079 women between the ages of 40 and 59 about menopause, depression, and diabetes. The women came from 11 different countries in Latin America. The research team recorded weight, blood pressure, and whether or not the participants had used hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
The researchers concluded that menopause was not a contributor to the onset or risk of diabetes. They did find that women who were diagnosed with diabetes before the age of 45 however did get menopause earlier than non-diabetic women. The average age of onset for menopause for women with diabetes was 48.5 and the average age for women without diabetes was 50.1.
When menopause occurs, estrogen levels drop, and previous research has shown that lower levels of hormones are tied to increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and bone disease.
"The associations between diabetes and menopause can be complex, which reinforces the message that women approaching the menopause need to be treated as individuals, and evaluated according to their own general health, background, and risk factors," said Monterrosa-Castro. "Diabetes is also associated with a generally poor quality of life, so we should encourage women to avoid risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as being overweight or having high blood pressure."
Reference: Counsel and Heal
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It’s hard to separate the effects of menopause from the effects of age and weight. But it does look like hormones do have something to do with it. If you are a woman over age 50, you’re especially vulnerable, and women pay a heavy price for the disease. They lose more years of life than men with diabetes do.
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