Women who experience menopause before age 40 are twice as likely to develop type 2 diabetes (T2D) than those who reach menopause at a more normal age, according to research presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes’ annual conference in Berlin last week.
Work led by Panagiotis Anagnostis of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Thessaloniki, Greece, analyzed data from 13 studies of postmenopausal women in an effort to discern what kind of impact early menopause can have on women’s metabolic health in the long-term. Women who have gone through menopause are already at an increased risk for T2D—studies have linked low postmenopausal estrogen levels to high blood sugar, impaired glucose metabolism and increased appetite—but it’s unknown how age influences those factors.
Anagnostis and colleagues retrospectively evaluated 191,762 postmenopausal women for their study, 21,664 of whom presented with diabetes. After compensating for confounding factors like age, BMI, race and tobacco use, the researchers said participants who reached menopause before they turned 40 saw a two-fold increased risk of developing T2D.
Similarly, women who experienced menopause between 40 and 45 years old were 15 percent more likely to become diabetic. Results persisted even after considering the use of hormone replacement therapy.
“This is the first meta-analysis to show that both early menopause and premature ovarian failure are linked with increased risk of type 2 diabetes,” Anagnostis said in a release. “Women who experience early menopause should be especially vigilant about eating healthily and exercising to help reduce their risk of developing diabetes.”
He said, however, his team’s results should be interpreted with caution.
“Our observational study cannot prove that early menopause causes diabetes, but only suggests that possibility of such an effect,” he said. “Further research is needed to investigate the underlying mechanisms linking early menopause to diabetes and to examine whether timing or natural menopause may help diabetes prediction and prevention.”
After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.