Several studies have already highlighted the link between life expectancy and the age at which menopause occurs. Early menopause also doubles the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to new research.
Menopause is a pivotal time in a woman’s life. It obviously corresponds to the period when she can no longer have children following the cessation of the functioning of her ovaries. But it is much more than that: for many women, menopause is often accompanied by unpleasant symptoms. Hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood disorders and joint pain are all consequences of this hormonal upheaval that make their daily life more complicated.
Menopause is also a period when, in some women, potentially serious pathologies can occur due to hormonal changes and advancing age. Among them, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporotic fractures, but also type 2 diabetes.
According to a new study published in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS), this risk of type 2 diabetes is all the greater when menopause occurs early. These two factors combined would also have a negative impact on life expectancy.
Reduced life expectancy in early menopausal women
Although previous work has already looked at the link between diabetes and early menopause, no study has until now quantified the combined association of these two data with life expectancy.
This is now done by NAMS researchers, who studied the life expectancy of 3,650 postmenopausal women. Among them, some had late menopause (at age 55 or later), others early (before age 44) or normally (between 45 and 54 years). Some also had type 2 diabetes.
By comparing the data collected, the researchers noticed that women who went through the menopause early generally had a reduced life expectancy of 3.5 years and -4.6 years in non-diabetic women compared to those who had had late menopause. Compared to the age at normal menopause, the life expectancy of women who experienced early menopause was also -3.1 years overall and -3.3 years in women without diabetes.
For JoAnn Pinkerton, executive director of NAMS, these results show that “the early age of natural menopause may be linked to early mortality”. “Women who naturally menopause early have a shorter life expectancy, are more likely to have diabetes, and live fewer years without diabetes than those who menopause after age 45 or even after age 55.”
A good diet reduces the risk of diabetes
Other studies, however, are more reassuring for women in their menopause. This is not always synonymous with reduced life expectancy, and even less with the onset of diabetes. It is also possible, according to researchers, to delay the onset of menopause by better choosing the foods that we put on our plate.
Thus, in May 2018, the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health published a study according to which a diet rich in oily fish (3.3 years late per serving/day) and fresh legumes (0.9 years late per serving/day) delays the onset of menopause, just like a diet rich in vitamin B6 (0.6 years late per mg/day) and zinc (0.3 years late per mg/day). Conversely, consuming rice, pasta, and salty snacks too often has been associated with earlier natural menopause.
Another study, this time in Sweden, showed that following a Paleolithic diet after menopause not only guaranteed weight loss, but also reduced risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So many good reasons to pay attention to your diet, whether or not you are in menopause…
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