Women with early menopause are at much higher risk for diabetes

Is there a link between type 2 diabetes and menopause?
Women come to their menopause at a different age. There are also women who have menopause very early on. Researchers have now found that women with early-onset menopause are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Researchers at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam found in their current research that women with early menopause have an increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Diabetologia".

The age at which women enter menopause varies from person to person. Physicians have now found that women who reach their premature menopause are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. (Picture: Picture-Factory / fotolia.com)

Estrogens protect the body from diabetes?
When women start menopause at 40 years of age, the chance of developing type 2 diabetes increases dramatically. The risk of developing diabetes is nearly four times as high for women as it is for women who enter menopause at the age of 55. Apparently estrogens protect the body from diabetes, the authors speculate.

When does menopause usually start??
The menopause begins on average at the age of 51 years. At that point, the body stops producing naturally estrogen and other sex hormones, explain the scientists. However, for example, around one in ten women in the United Kingdom start menopause before the age of 45. One in every 100 women enters menopause before their 40th birthday, and one in every 1,000 women starts menopause before the age of 30, according to experts from the Netherlands.

Physicians are studying more than 3,600 women for their study
For their study, the scientists examined more than 3,600 postmenopausal women. These participants were medically monitored for a period of one decade. During this time, 348 women developed type 2 diabetes. The researchers found that for every progressive year (above the median age) before a woman enters menopause, the likelihood of Type 2 diabetes is reduced by four percent.

What risk for type 2 diabetes women have at what age?
Women who entered menopause before the age of 40 had a 3.7 times greater risk of developing diabetes, explain the Dutch authors. If women between the ages of 40 and 44 enter menopause, they have a 2.4-fold increased risk. When women experienced menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, the risk was still around 1.6 times higher.

Indicates an early menopause on serious health problems?
Previous studies have already shown that women who enter menopause early have an increased risk of heart disease. This could also apply to diabetes, the researchers say. However, there is also the possibility that an early menopause is due to a deeper problem such as a defective DNA repair system, which can also lead to diabetes, the experts add. The current findings may indicate that the risk of diabetes associated with menopause already exists before menopause even begins, the authors of the study explain. (As)