New research suggests women who have their first menstrual cycle at the age of 10 or younger or 17 or older could have a higher risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, or stroke later in life.
Researchers looked at 1.3 million women between the ages of 50 and 64 and noticed a clear link between age of first menstrual cycle and health risks down the road, the American Heart Association reported.
Compared to women who had their first menstrual cycle at the age of 13, women who had it at 10 and younger or 17 and older were 27 percent more likely to be hospitalized or die as a result. Additionally, 16 percent more of the women who fell into these two categories were hospitalized or passed away after suffering a stroke; the women in this group were also found to be 20 percent more likely to be hospitalized for high blood pressure or die from its complications.
"The size of our study, the wide range of ages considered, and the vascular diseases being examined made it unique and informative," said Dexter Canoy, M.D, Ph.D., study lead author and cardiovascular epidemiologist at the Cancer Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health at the University of Oxford in the U.K. "Childhood obesity, widespread in many industrialized countries, is linked particularly to early age at which the first menstrual cycle occurs. Public health strategies to tackle childhood obesity may possibly prevent the lowering of the average age of first menstrual cycle, which may in turn reduce their risk of developing heart disease over the long term."
The effect of time of first menstrual cycle on heart health was consistent across women of all all weight ranges, varied smoking habits, and socioeconomic groups. For the majority of these women the additional risk of developing vascular complications was relatively small.
The findings were published in the journal Circulation.
