The association of adolescent to midlife weight change with age at natural menopause: a population study of 263 586 women in Norway.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Retrospective population-based cohort study
PubMed 39489503 · doi:10.1093/aje/kwae426
What was done
Authors conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study of 263,586 women aged 50-69 years attending BreastScreen Norway (2006-2015). They assessed associations between adolescent-to-midlife weight change and age at natural menopause. Weight change was classified into 9 categories using recalled adolescent weight compared with peers combined with midlife weight quartiles. Hazard ratios (HRs) for reaching menopause were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for birth year, country of birth, education, number of childbirths, height, smoking, and exercise.
What was found
Compared with women with estimated stable average weight: - Largest estimated weight loss was associated with an increased hazard of reaching menopause (adjusted HR = 1.11; 95% CI, 1.06-1.17). - Largest estimated weight gain was associated with a lower hazard of reaching menopause (adjusted HR = 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-0.99). - Estimated stable high weight had the lowest hazard of reaching menopause (adjusted HR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90-0.95).
Why it matters
This study provides large-scale epidemiological evidence that weight trajectories across the female life course are modestly associated with the timing of natural menopause.
Limits
Adolescent weight relied entirely on retrospective subjective recall relative to peers rather than objective anthropometric measurements, introducing potential recall error. The observational design precludes causal inference, residual confounding cannot be ruled out, and findings in a Norwegian screening population may have limited generalizability to other demographic groups.
Cited by
- contradicts Obesity accelerates ovarian aging and leads to earlier menopause.