Age at menopause in Latin America.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the age at menopause (AM) in Latin America urban areas.


METHODS
A total of 17,150 healthy women, aged 40 to 59 years, accompanying patients to healthcare centers in 47 cities of 15 Latin American countries, were surveyed regarding their age, educational level, healthcare coverage, history of gynecological surgery, smoking habit, presence of menses, and the use of contraception or hormone therapy at menopause. The AM was calculated using logit analysis.


RESULTS
The mean age of the entire sample was 49.4 +/- 5.5 years. Mean educational level was 9.9 +/- 4.5 years, and the use of hormone therapy and oral contraception was 22.1% and 7.9%, respectively. The median AM of women in all centers was 48.6 years, ranging from 43.8 years in Asuncion (Paraguay) to 53 years in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). Logistic regression analysis determined that women aged 49 living in cities at 2,000 meters or more above sea level (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.4-2.9, P < 0.001) and those with lower educational level (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.3-2.8, P < 0.001) or living in countries with low gross national product (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.5-2.9, P < 0.001) were more prone to an earlier onset of menopause.


CONCLUSIONS
The AM varies widely in Latin America. Lower income and related poverty conditions influence the onset of menopause.
Castelo-Branco
Camil
C
Institut Clínic de Ginecologia, Obstetrícia i Neonatologia, Hospital Clínic Provincial, Villarroel, Barcelona, Spain [corrected]
Blümel
Juan E
JE
Chedraui
Peter
P
Calle
Andrés
A
Bocanera
Roberto
R
Depiano
Eduardo
E
Figueroa-Casas
Pedro
P
Gonzalez
Carlos
C
Martino
Mabel
M
Royer
Monique
M
Zuñiga
Cristina
C
Dulon
Alfredo
A
Espinoza
María T
MT
Futchner
Carlos
C
Mostajo
Desireé
D
Soto
Edwin
E
Albernaz
Marco A
MA
Marco
Aurélio A
AA
Aravena
Hernán
H
Busquets
Maritza
M
Campodonico
Italo
I
Germain
Alfredo
A
Alba
Alcira
A
Baron
Germán
G
Gomez
Gustavo
G
Monterrosa
Alvaro
A
Onatra
Williams
W
Broutin
Gerardo
G
Manzano
Blanca
B
Gabriela
Ayala
A
Hidalgo
Luis
L
Leon
Patricia
P
Orbea
Marcos
M
Sanchez
Hugo
H
Vallejo
Soledad
S
Vallecillo
Gaspar
G
Hernandez-Bueno
José
J
Hernandez-Bueno
Jose A
JA
Motta
Eduardo
E
Andrade
Rafael
R
Tserotas
Konstantinos
K
Gonzalez
Mario C
MC
Gonzalez
Carlos M
CM
Benitez
Zully
Z
Calle
Elena
E
Danckers
Luis
L
Del Castillo
Angélica
A
Izaguirre
Humberto
H
Ojeda
Eliana
E
Rojas
Juan
J
Bencosme
Ascanio
A
Lima
Selva
S
Motta
Eduardo
E
Figueroa-Casas
Pedro
P
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000531:Altitude; D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015914:Estrogen Replacement Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007843:Latin America / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008593:Menopause / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013020:South America / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
D003277:Contraceptives, Oral, Combined