title: Association between earlier age at natural menopause and risk of diabetes in middle-aged and older Chinese women: The Dongfeng-Tongji cohort study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Age at menopause is associated with cardiovascular disease, but little is known of its relationship with diabetes, and previous findings are controversial. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between earlier menopause (at age ≤45 years) and the prevalence of diabetes in the Chinese population.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 16,299 postmenopausal women, aged 42.0-94.3 years, who completed the study questionnaires, underwent medical examinations and provided blood samples, were included in our analysis. Participants self-reported their age at menopause and were then divided into three age groups (≤45, 46-52, ≥53years). Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the study participants, 2811 (17.2%) had diabetes. The average age at menopause was 49.5±3.3 years. For each 1-year delay in menopausal age, the presence of diabetes was reduced by 2% (OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.97-0.99) after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Compared with those whose menopausal age was 46-52 years, the OR for diabetes was 1.20 (95% CI: 1.03-1.39) for those with an earlier menopausal age (≤45years).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that earlier menopause may be independently associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes. Future prospective studies are needed to verify this relationship.
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Electronic address: wangyoujie@mails.tjmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk
keywords: Age; Diabetes; Menopause