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 Compared to women who never smoked and those exposed to the least
secondhand smoke, women who smoked or were exposed to the most
secondhand smoke were more likely to have problems getting pregnant
and more likely to enter menopause before age 50, researchers found.
Andrew Hyland of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New
York, who led the research, said earlier studies had linked smoking
to reproductive issues in women, but few had looked at links between
secondhand smoke and infertility and early menopause.
"The literature really wasn’t clear – particularly with secondhand
smoke," Hyland told Reuters Health.
Hyland and colleagues analyzed data on 88,732 U.S. women who
enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study
between 1993 and 1998, when they were between the ages of 50 and 79.
Based on questionnaires the women completed at the start, about 15
percent met the criteria for infertility, which is the inability to
get pregnant for at least a year. About 45 percent also met the
criteria for early menopause, which occurs before age 50.
Compared to women who never smoked, researchers found that those who
reported being active smokers at some point in their lives were 14
percent more likely to have infertility and 26 percent more likely
to enter menopause early.
Women who smoked the most reported entering menopause about two
years earlier than women who didn't smoke, the researchers report in
the journal Tobacco Control.
Women who never smoked but were exposed to the most secondhand smoke
were 18 percent more likely to have problems getting pregnant and to
enter menopause at an early age, compared to women who never smoked
and were exposed to the least amount of secondhand smoke.
While an 18 percent increased risk may seem modest, Hyland said it's
large considering infertility and early menopause are not uncommon.
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"There are a lot of events that could be attributed to these
exposures," he said.
Hyland cautions that the study can't prove smoking causes these
problems. The research team did, however, adjust the data to account
for other factors that would be tied to infertility and early
menopause.
The study also can't say what may underlie the link between smoke
exposure and infertility and early menopause, but Hyland said other
research suggests that smoke exposure may affect hormone levels.
It appears the association is driven by smoke exposure throughout a
woman's lifetime, he said.
"As for a recommendation to clinicians, you should advise women of
reproductive age to limit their exposure to minimize these
outcomes," said Hyland.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1P5RSGZ Tobacco Control, online December 15,
2015.
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