The association of birthweight with age at natural menopause: a population study of women in Norway

Birth weight and premature ovarian insufficiency: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To comprehensively evaluate the effect of low birth weight on premature ovarian insufficiency.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review of the literature by searching MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, Scopus, Wanfang and CNKI up to August 2023. All cohort and case-control studies that included birth weight as an exposure and premature ovarian insufficiency as an outcome were included in the analysis. Data were combined using inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis with fixed and random effects models and between-study heterogeneity evaluated. We evaluated risk of bias using the Newcastle Ottawa Scale and using Egger's method to test publication bias. All statistical analyses were performed with the use of R software.

RESULTS

Five articles were included in the review. A total of 2,248,594 women were included, including 21,813 (1%) cases of premature ovarian insufficiency, 150,743 cases of low birth weight, and 220,703 cases of macrosomia. We found strong evidence that changed the results of the previous review that low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of premature ovarian insufficiency (OR = 1.15, 95%CI 1.09-1.22) in adulthood compared with normal birth weight. No effect of macrosomia on premature ovarian insufficiency was found.

CONCLUSIONS

Our meta-analysis showed strong evidence of an association between low birth weight and premature ovarian insufficiency. We should reduce the occurrence of low birth weight by various methods to avoid the occurrence of premature ovarian insufficiency.

Risk factors for natural menopause before the age of 45: evidence from two British population-based birth cohort studies

Background

Menopause that occurs before the age of 45 and is not medically induced (referred to here as ‘early natural menopause’) affects around one in 10 women and has serious health consequences. These consequences include increased risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes.

Methods

We investigate risk factors for the onset of natural menopause before the age of 45 in two population-based prospective cohort studies in Britain: the 1958 cohort following 8959 women and the 1970 cohort following 8655 women. These studies follow women from birth to adulthood, and we use harmonized data on birth and early life characteristics, reproductive health, health behaviour, and socioeconomic characteristics for 6805 women who were pre-menopausal, peri-menopausal or had undergone natural menopause. Of these 6805 women, 3614 participated in the 1958 cohort (of which 368 had early menopause) and 3191 participated in the 1970 cohort (of which 206 had early menopause). Taking a life course approach, we focus on three distinct life stages - birth/early life, childhood, and early adulthood - to understand when risk factors are most harmful. Respecting the temporal sequence of exposures, we use a series of multivariable logistic regression models to estimate associations between early menopause and each potential risk factor adjusted for confounders.

Results

We find that early menopause is influenced by circumstances at birth. Women born in lower social class families, whose mother smoked during the pregnancy or who were breastfed 1 month or less were more likely to undergo early menopause. Early menopause is also associated with poorer cognitive ability and smoking in childhood. Adult health behaviour also matters. Smoking is positively correlated with early menopause, while regular exercise and moderate frequency of alcohol drinking in women’s early thirties are associated with reduced risk of early menopause. The occurrence of gynaecological problems by women’s early thirties is also linked to early menopause.

Conclusions

We demonstrate that characteristics at different periods of life are associated with early menopause. Some of these associations relate to modifiable behaviours and thus the risks of early menopause and the adverse health outcomes associated with it may be preventable.

The Causal Evidence of Birth Weight and Female-Related Traits and Diseases: A Two-Sample Mendelian Randomization Analysis

Objectives: A large meta-analysis indicated a more pronounced association between lower birth weight (BW) and diseases in women but less concern about the causality between BW and female-related phenotypes and diseases.

Methods: Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis was used to estimate the causal relationship between two traits or diseases using summary datasets from genome-wide association studies. Exposure instrumental variables are variants that are strongly associated with traits and are tested using four different statistical methods, including the inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger, weighted median, and weighted mode in MR analysis. Next, sensitivity analysis and horizontal pleiotropy were assessed using leave-one-out and MR-PRESSO packages.

Results: The body mass index (BMI) in adulthood was determined by BW (corrected β = 0.071, p = 3.19E-03). Lower BW could decrease the adult sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) level (β = −0.081, p = 2.08E-06), but it resulted in increased levels of bioavailable testosterone (bio-T) (β = 0.105, p = 1.25E-05). A potential inverse effect was observed between BW and menarche (corrected β = −0.048, p = 4.75E-03), and no causal association was confirmed between BW and the risk of endometriosis, leiomyoma, and polycystic ovary syndrome.

Conclusion: Our results suggest that BW may play an important role and demonstrates a significant direct influence on female BMI, SHBG and bio-T levels, and menarche.

Association of In Utero Exposures With Risk of Early Natural Menopause

Suboptimal pregnancy conditions may affect ovarian development in the fetus and be associated with early natural menopause (ENM) for offspring. A total of 106,633 premenopausal participants in Nurses' Health Study II who provided data on their own prenatal characteristics, including diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure, maternal cigarette smoking exposure, multiplicity, prematurity, and birth weight, were followed from 1989 to 2017. Cox regression models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations of in utero exposures with ENM. During 1.6 million person-years of follow-up, 2,579 participants experienced ENM. In multivariable models, women with prenatal DES exposure had higher risk of ENM compared with those without it (HR = 1.33, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.67). Increased risk of ENM was observed for those with low (<5.5 pounds (<2.5 kg)) versus normal (7.0-8.4 pounds (3.2-3.8 kg)) birth weight (HR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.45). Decreasing risk was observed per 1-pound (0.45-kg) increase in birth weight (HR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.90, 0.97). Prenatal smoking exposure, being part of a multiple birth, and prematurity were not associated with ENM. In this large cohort study, lower birth weight and prenatal DES exposure were associated with higher risk of ENM. Our results support a need for future research to examine in utero exposures that may affect offspring reproductive health.

Age at menopause among rural and urban women in the state of Campeche, Mexico

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to examine age at natural menopause among women of Maya and non-Maya ancestry living in urban and rural communities in the state of Campeche, Mexico.

METHODS

Women ages 40 to 60 (n = 543) participated in semi-structured interviews and anthropometric measures. The last names, languages spoken, and the birthplace of the woman, her parents, and her grandparents were used to determine Maya or non-Maya ethnicity. Recalled age at natural menopause was compared across four communities; analysis of variance was used to compare means and Kaplan-Meier analyses were used to compare medians. Probit analysis was also used to estimate median ages at menopause. Cox regression analyses were applied to identify variables associated with age at menopause.

RESULTS

Mean recalled age at natural menopause across all sites was 46.7 years, ranging from 47.8 years in the city of Campeche to 43.9 years in the rural Maya communities in the municipality of Hopelchén. Median ages at menopause across all sites were 50.55 years by probit analysis and 50.5 years by Kaplan-Meier. Variables associated with a later age at menopause included higher socioeconomic status, higher parity, and a later age at menarche.

CONCLUSIONS

The early mean recalled age at menopause in southern Hopelchén was consistent with previous studies in the Yucatán peninsula. As expected, probit and Kaplan-Meier analyses demonstrated later ages at menopause. Contrary to our expectations, Maya/non-Maya ethnicity was not associated with age at menopause. Demographic and reproductive factors were more important than ethnicity in explaining variation in age at menopause within the state of Campeche, Mexico.

Temporal trends in age at menarche and age at menopause: a population study of 312 656 women in Norway

STUDY QUESTION

Have mean age at menarche or mean age at natural menopause changed from the 1939 birth cohort to the 1964 birth cohort?

SUMMARY ANSWER

We estimated a minor decrease in mean age at menarche and an increase by nearly 3 years in mean age at natural menopause.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

In the Western world, age at menarche decreased across birth cohorts from the early 1800s until the 1950s. Whether mean age at menarche has continued to decrease in birth cohorts after the 1950s remains uncertain. It is also uncertain whether mean age at natural menopause has changed across birth cohorts.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

We performed a retrospective population study of 312 656 women who were born in Norway during the years 1936–1964.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

The data were obtained by two self-administered questionnaires from women who participated in the Norwegian breast cancer screening program (BreastScreen Norway) during the years 2006–2014. We used flexible parametric survival models with restricted cubic splines to estimate mean age at menarche, mean age at menopause and mean number of years between menarche and menopause according to the women’s year of birth. The women who were still having menstrual periods contributed with follow-up time until the time of data collection, and the women who had reported surgical removal of the uterus and/or both ovaries prior to natural menopause contributed with follow-up time until the time of surgery.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

The mean age at menarche was 13.42 years (95% CI: 13.40–13.44 years) among women born during 1936–1939, and it was 13.24 years (95% CI: 13.22–13.25 years) among women born during 1960–1964. The mean age at natural menopause increased from 50.31 years (95% CI: 50.25–50.37 years) among women born during 1936–1939 to 52.73 years (95% CI: 52.64–52.82 years) among women born during 1960–1964. The mean number of years between menarche and menopause increased from 36.83 years (95% CI: 36.77–36.89 years) to 40.22 years (95% CI: 40.11–40.34 years).

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

Information about age at menarche and age at menopause was based on self-reports.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Late menopause is associated with increased risk of breast cancer but also with increased life expectancy. Thus, higher mean age at menopause may partly explain the increase in breast cancer incidence after menopause and the increase in life expectancy in recent time. Also, a longer interval between menarche and menopause could suggest that the number of years of female fecundity has increased.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

This work was funded by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority [grant number 2016112 to M.S.G.] and by the Norwegian Cancer Society [grant number 6863294-2015 to E.K.B.]. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Being born preterm or with low weight implies a risk of infertility and premature loss of ovarian function; a national register study

Background: Being born with non-optimal birth characteristics has several long-term consequences on health in general but also for the individual's reproductive pattern. In premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) the follicles are depleted or dysfunctional. This results in menopause before the age of 40, and for most of the affected women, it causes infertility. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential effects of being born with non-optimal birth characteristics on the risk of developing POI.Methods: This population-based cohort register study included all women born in Sweden between 1973 and 1993 who were followed until the end of 2012 (age at the end of follow-up ranged between 39 and 59). Women diagnosed with POI were compared with women without this diagnosis with respect to being born small for gestational age, preterm, or with low birth weight. Data on birth characteristics and diagnosis of POI were collected from national registers.Results: A total of 1,033,878 women were included. Being born small for gestational age was associated with a slightly increased odds ratio of POI with 10%. Preterm birth and low birth weight were associated with somewhat increased ORs of POI after exclusion of those born small for gestational age. Similarly, being born preterm or with a low birth weight was also found to be associated with POI to the same extent.Conclusions: Being born with non-optimal birth characteristics may increase the risk of premature ovarian insufficiency.