Age at natural menopause in a sample of Puerto Rican women.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the distribution of age at menopause in a sample of Puerto Rican women and to evaluate the differences in demographic, health and lifestyle factors associated with menopausal state.


BACKGROUND
Age at natural menopause may be an important marker of a woman's long-term risk of chronic disease. Understanding which factors influence the timing of menopause remains limited and while ethnic differences in age at menopause have been reported, little data are available for Puerto Rican women.


METHODS
In 2000, a self-administered questionnaire was completed by a sample of 300 women aged 30-59 attending health fairs in the cities of Carolina, Aguadilla and Yauco, Puerto Rico (PR). Data from this interview was used to determine age at menopause which was described with probit analysis. Women from different menopausal status groups were compared with respect to demographic, lifestyle and health characteristics by using contingency table analysis and chi-square statistics.


RESULTS
In a sample where 53% of women were menopausal, the median age of natural menopause was 51.4 years (95% confidence intervals 50.3-52.5). Compared to premenopausal women, naturally and surgically postmenopausal women had lower educational attainment, increased parity and were more likely to be obese (p < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
This analysis provides the first estimate of age at natural menopause among women living in PR and the age is similar to that reported in other populations. Determining whether this population tends to have an early or late menopause will facilitate a better understanding of the potential chronic disease profile of Puerto Rican women as they age.
Ortiz
Ana Patricia
AP
Epidemiology Department, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 611 Church Street, Room 360, Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3028, USA.
Harlow
Siobán
S
Sowers
Maryfran
M
Romaguera
Josefina
J
D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D017668:Age of Onset; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D017533:Marital Status; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010298:Parity; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires