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 Researchers compared the timing of menopause for 751 women born
during a famine in China from 1959 to 1961 and for 1,029 women who
were young children during the same period. They also looked at a
control group of 1,088 women born after the famine ended.
Compared to women born after the famine ended, women exposed to
famine in the womb were 59 percent more likely to go through
menopause before age 45, which is earlier than normal.
"Our finding underscores the importance of adequate nutrition during
early-life stages to avoid adverse effects on reproductive health in
adulthood," said study co-author Dr. Yan Zheng of Fudan University
in Shanghai, China.
Women go through menopause when they stop menstruating, typically
between ages 45 and 55. As the ovaries curb production of the
hormones estrogen and progesterone, women can experience symptoms
ranging from vaginal dryness to mood swings, joint pain and
insomnia.
Earlier menopause has been linked to an increased risk of heart
disease, osteoporosis, diabetes and sleep problems. It can also
leave women with fewer reproductive years, particularly when it's
preceded by premature ovarian failure, when the ovaries stop working
before age 40.
Women in the current study who were exposed to famine in the womb
also appeared more likely than women who didn't live through the
famine to experience premature ovarian failure. But this difference
was too small to rule out the possibility that it was due to chance.
While the study wasn't designed to prove whether or how famine might
directly mpact menopause timing, it's possible that prenatal famine
exposure might alter hormone production and gene activity in ways
that compromise women's reproductive health, said Yingli Lu, a
researcher at JiaoTong University School of Medicine in Shanghai who
wasn't involved in the study.
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Insufficient prenatal nutrition could also mean female babies are
born with a smaller reserve of eggs available for release by the
ovaries, Lu said by email. Women are typically born with around two
million eggs that are released by the ovaries during menstrual
cycles in their reproductive years.
"For women undergoing early menopause, hormone therapy at least
until the natural age of menopause is recommended," Lu advised.
When women who go through early menopause don't take hormones, they
may have a higher risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, depression
and memory changes, and changes in vaginal and sexual health than
their counterparts who do take hormones, said Dr. JoAnn Pinkerton of
the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville.
While hormone therapy has been linked to an increased risk of blood
clots and breast cancer, it is still recommended for many women who
are experiencing moderate to severe symptoms of menopause, as well
as for women who go through menopause early.
"Women with history of famine exposure or malnutrition while in
their mother's womb should be watched for early menopause with
counseling about increased health risks if they develop early
menopause," Pinkerton, executive director of the North American
Menopause Society, said by email.
"If no contraindications, hormone therapy given until the average
age of menopause will decrease those health risks to those of women
going through menopause at a normal age," Pinkerton said.
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2UlCleY Menopause, online December 3, 2018.
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