Several female reproductive factors, including early menarche, early menopause and miscarriage, are associated with an increased risk for heart disease and stroke, British researchers report.
Between 2006 and 2010, scientists collected data on 267,440 women 40 to 69 years old and followed them for an average of seven years. They found 3,075 cases of cardiovascular disease, 1,635 cases of coronary heart disease and 1,504 strokes.
Reaching menarche before age 12 was associated with a 5 percent increased risk for coronary heart disease and a 7 percent increased risk for stroke. Earlier age of menopause and earlier age at first birth were both linked to a greater risk for cardiovascular disease, while a history of hysterectomy with removal of the ovaries more than doubled the risk. Each miscarriage increased the risk by 4 percent, and each stillbirth by 14 percent.
The study, in Heart, controlled for body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, smoking and other health and lifestyle characteristics. The mechanism is unclear, but it may be that some reproductive abnormalities are caused by the same things that cause cardiovascular disease — namely, inflammation and blood vessel dysfunction.
The lead author, Sanne A.E. Peters, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said that screening for heart disease “would seem to be sensible amongst women who are early in their reproductive cycle to help delay or prevent the onset of cardiovascular disease.”
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