Early menopause may be linked to early death, study says
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) -- A new study finds a connection linking early menopause with early death in some women.
Researchers in Sweden studied 390 women for about 30 years beginning in 1977 when they were 48 years old. They were divided into two groups: Those who began menopause before, and after, age 47.
Women who had early menopause were at nearly double the risk of osteoporosis, with a 44 percent rate of fractures compared to 31 percent for women who had late menopause.
More disturbingly, the study published in the Journal “BJOG” found the early menopause group had a mortality rate of 52 percent compared to 35 percent for the late menopause women.
But the authors say the associations they found do not prove a cause and effect relationship. They add that the higher mortality rate of early menopause women needs further study.
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