Abstract
Objective
Early onset of menopause results in the premature exposure to low estrogen levels
and is associated with a number of postmenopausal health problems and higher risk
of mortality. The aim of this study was to determine genetic and environmental factors
associated with age at natural and surgical menopause.
Methods
Multiple regression analysis using a sample of Caucasians composed of 154 females
with surgical and 248 with natural menopause.
Results
Breastfeeding is a significant predictor of earlier natural menopause (P < 0.05). Use of oral contraceptives and smoking were not significantly associated with
age at menopause. Females who did not have history of pregnancies are at significantly
higher risk (P < 0.001) of getting early surgical menopause than those who did. We also tested the
association of seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the estrogen receptor
α (ER-α) gene with age at menopause. No association was observed with age at menopause
but the PvuII p allele was overrepresented in women with surgical menopause and associated with menopause
per se (P = 0.029; OR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1–3.0).
Conclusions
Breastfeeding and alcohol consumption are significantly associated with earlier natural
menopause. No significant effects of the ER-α genotypes were observed on the age of
menopause. Given the important role of the ER-α in estrogen signaling, which directly
influences the menopausal process, further studies are required to better define the
relationship between this gene and age at menopause.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
August 9,
2005
Received in revised form:
July 25,
2005
Received:
February 2,
2005
Identification
Copyright
© 2005 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
