Childhood predictors of age at natural menopause

Abstract

Although the age of menopause and the symptoms that may rise in this period of a woman’s life cycle have been studied, scant esearch has attempted to identify childhood factors that affect he timing of menopause’s onset and the intensity of symptoms. owever, the research that has been done has explored a range of otential markers, including age at menarche, childhood growth nd body mass index (BMI), cognitive ability, parental influence, moke exposure, genetics, factors related to birth, and history of hysical and sexual abuse. Regarding the prediction of menopausal onset, age at menarhe does not appear to be a factor. Bjelland et al. looked at this ssociation in a group of women in Norway, and concluded that here was no significant difference in age at menarche for any age t menopause [1]. However, even though age at menarche does not nfluence age at menopause, those with an earlier menarche, which ay be related to growth rate and familial conflict, do have a longer eproductive time frame [1]. A girl’s nutritional status may influence both age at menopause s well as, interestingly, age at menarche. Children who are not reastfed, who have poor early growth, and who are malnourshed tend to experience an earlier menopause [2,3]. One study eported that women in a New Guinea population with a high rate f malnourishment, shorter height, and lower weight experienced enopause on average 4 years earlier than a similar population in ew Guinea with adequate nourishment and growth markers [2]. his association seems to be restricted to childhood nourishment tatus, as no correlation has been reported between adult BMI and ge at menopause [3]. It has been hypothesized that early malourishment may affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis, eading to decreased ovulation and earlier menopause [3]. Cognitive ability, defined as either a specific score on an assessent or the length of time provided to the child in formal education, as also been assessed as a factor potentially affecting age at enopause. Some researchers, such as Kuh et al., using two cohort tudies, noted that lower cognitive scores were associated with arlier menopause [4]. However, more than 50% of the studies in 2011 review reported no relationship between cognitive ability nd menopausal age [5]. Parents also may have an influence on when their female offpring will eventually become menopausal. A study based on the nglish Longitudinal Study of Aging reported that overprotecion by both parents can lead to a shorter reproductive life span, ith paternal overprotection more significantly associated than aternal overprotection [6]. Additionally, one study reported that