title: Racial and regional differences in age at menopause in the United States: findings from the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We sought to examine regional and black-white differences in mean age at self-reported menopause among community-dwelling women in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a cross-sectional survey conducted in the context of the REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke and Myocardial Infarction study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We studied 22,484 menopausal women. After controlling for covariates, Southern women reported menopause 10.8 months earlier than Northeastern women, 8.4 months earlier than Midwestern women, and 6.0 months earlier than Western women (P < .05 for all). No difference was observed in menopausal age between black and white women after controlling for covariates (P = .69).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women in the South report earlier menopause than those in other regions, but the cause remains unclear. Our study's large sample size and adjustment for multiple confounders lends weight to our finding of no racial difference in age at menopause. More study is needed of the implications of these findings with regard to vascular health.
authors.affiliation: Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Alabama School of Medicine at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA. kkmcknight@gmail.com
authors.forename: Katherine K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: McKnight
authors.forename: Melissa F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Wellons
authors.forename: Cynthia K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Sites
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Roth
authors.forename: Jeff M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Szychowski
authors.forename: Jewell H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Halanych
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cushman
authors.forename: Monika M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Safford
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000367:Age Factors; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D020521:Stroke / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States; D044465:White People