Many researchers have believed that female bodies have been studied the least in history therefore many misconceptions tend to originate. However, the time has changed and so do the acknowledgement of women in different fields. In a research study conducted in the United States and published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) Nutrition Prevention & Health has revealed a connection between early menstruation and an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and stroke later in life.
The study involved over 17,000 women aged between 20 and 65, and the findings indicated that starting menstruation before the age of 13 is linked to a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in mid-life. Additionally, women who experienced early menstruation, particularly before the age of 10, faced an elevated risk of experiencing a stroke before the age of 65 if they had diabetes.
The researchers, from Tulane University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the US, clarified that their study was observational, meaning they couldn’t establish the direct causes of these associations.
They suggested that an earlier age at the first menstrual cycle might serve as an early indicator of the trajectory toward cardiometabolic diseases in women. The data for the study came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2018, which included a nationally representative cross-section of women.
The result of the study found that approximately 10% (1773) reported a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes, with 11.5% of them (203) reporting some form of cardiovascular disease. The research quantified the increased risk of type 2 diabetes due to early menstruation as 32% for those who started menstruating at age 10 or earlier, 14% for age 11, and 29% for age 12. Menstruating before turning 10 was associated with more than double the risk of stroke among women below the age of 65 with diabetes. The calculated risk was 81% for those who had their first period at age 11, 32% at age 12, and 15% at age 14.
The researchers suggested that one possible explanation for these findings is the longer exposure to estrogen in women who start menstruating earlier. They also noted that weight could be a significant factor influencing the results. Adjusting the data for weight weakened the observed associations slightly, but they remained significant.
The researchers concluded that these findings highlight the potential incorporation of the age of first menstruation into early-life strategies for preventing diabetes and its complications, emphasizing the need for further interventional studies in diverse groups of women. Sumantra Ray, Executive Director of the NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition & Health, emphasized the importance of exploring these determinants of cardiometabolic risk in women who have been relatively underrepresented in research in this area.