Type 2 diabetes - the most common type of diabetes - triples the risk of an early menopause in women younger than 45 years of age, according to new research published in the peer-reviewed journal Climacteric.
Diabetes is a huge and increasing international problem. The International Diabetes Federation estimates that 366m people had diabetes in 2011 - more than the entire population of the USA. This figure is predicted to rise to 552m by 2030. 90% of those with diabetes have type 2 diabetes.
A group led by Dr álvaro Monterrosa-Castro, of the University of Cartagena, Colombia asked 6079 women aged between 40 and 59 years from 11 Latin American countries a series of questions related to menopause, depression, and diabetes. They then associated their responses with a series of variables such as weight, blood pressure, HRT use. Using a statistical programme developed by the Centre for Disease Control in the USA, they were able to pull out a series of correlations - some expected, but some more surprising. The main finding was:
Menopause itself does not increase the risk of diabetes. But in contrast, women under 45 who have type 2 diabetes have almost three times (Odds Ratio, 2.76) the risk of an early menopause; the average age of menopause in women with diabetes was 48.5 years, as opposed to 50.1 years in non-diabetic women (there were no other significant differences between the groups). This means that 29.5% of diabetic women aged 40 to 44 had experienced the menopause.