An early or late menopause can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25%
An early or late menopause can raise the risk of type 2 diabetes by 25%
- Women 25% more at risk of type 2 if last period occurs before they are 46
- Late puberty, followed by an early menopause, ups the odds by almost 40%
- Knowing more about who is at risk could have benefits to the economy
- Low levels of oestrogen linked to high blood sugar – a symptom of diabetes
Women who go through the menopause earlier or later than average are at greater risk of type 2 diabetes, doctors have warned.
The link is particularly strong for an early menopause, with those who have their last period before the age of 46 being 25 per cent more likely to develop the condition in later life.
And a late puberty, followed by an early menopause, ups the odds by almost 40 per cent.
However, those with a late menopause – defined as having their last period aged 55-plus – are also at heightened risk.
These women are 12 per cent more likely to develop the condition than those who go through menopause in their late 40s or early 50s.
The discovery is important because type 2 diabetes, the form that usually strikes in middle-age and is fuelled by obesity, is becoming ever more common as waistlines expand.
It eats up a tenth of the NHS’s budget and leads to disabling and life-threatening complications from stroke and heart attacks, to blindness and circulatory problems that lead to limbs being amputated.
Knowing more about who is at risk could have massive benefits to health and to the economy.
The US researchers analysed data on almost 125,000 post-menopausal women aged between 50 and 79.
Information included when they had their first and last period, as well as height, weight and medical history.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3709154/An-early-late-menopause-raise-risk-type-2-diabetes-25.html#ixzz4FdjQ5jJg
