title: Frequency of premature menopause in women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation on the probability of experiencing premature natural menopause.
  
  
  METHODS
  Observational study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients in an academic research environment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Women who carry a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation (case subjects) and women who do not carry a mutation (control subjects).
  
  
  METHODS
  Survey about reproductive history administered on study entry and every 2 years thereafter.
  
  
  METHODS
  The impact of carrying a BRCA mutation on age at menopause and other factors, including parity, age at first birth, age at last birth, and self-reported fertility.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 908 matched pairs were identified. The mean age at natural menopause was 48.8 years for BRCA1 carriers, 49.2 years for BRCA2 carriers, and 50.3 years for control subjects. Women who carried a BRCA mutation had parity similar to noncarriers and were as likely as noncarriers to have a child after age 35 years. Similar proportions reported a history of fertility problems (12.5% vs. 13.7%) and use of fertility medication (6.0% vs. 7.0%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Women who carry a BRCA mutation experience menopause earlier, on average, than women who do not have a mutation, but the difference is small and does not appear to affect fertility.
authors: Familial Breast Cancer Research, Women's College Research Institute Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors: Amy
authors: A
authors: Finch
authors: Adriana
authors: A
authors: Valentini
authors: Ellen
authors: E
authors: Greenblatt
authors: Henry T
authors: HT
authors: Lynch
authors: Parviz
authors: P
authors: Ghadirian
authors: Susan
authors: S
authors: Armel
authors: Susan L
authors: SL
authors: Neuhausen
authors: Charmaine
authors: C
authors: Kim-Sing
authors: Nadine
authors: N
authors: Tung
authors: Beth
authors: B
authors: Karlan
authors: William D
authors: WD
authors: Foulkes
authors: Ping
authors: P
authors: Sun
authors: Steven
authors: S
authors: Narod
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D024682:BRCA2 Protein / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008594:Menopause, Premature / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases / Q000235:genetics*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D024682:BRCA2 Protein; C551750:BRCA2 protein, human; C111164:BRAP protein, human; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases