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Early menopause linked to osteoporosis risk
April 25, 2012
Starting menopause before 47 years of age appears to be associated with an increased risk of osteoporosis and fractures.
Women who go through menopause at an early age may be more likely to develop osteoporosis in later life, a study has found.
Researchers at the Skane University Hospital in Sweden found that women who started the menopause before 47 years of age were more likely to have the bone-thinning disease at age 77 than those who started the menopause later.
Among the 198 women who completed the study, 56 percent of those with early menopause had osteoporosis by the time they were 77 years of age, compared with just 30 percent of those with late menopause.
The findings are published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and suggest that early menopause may be another risk factor for osteoporosis, according to Ola Svejme, an orthopaedic surgeon at the Skane University Hospital.
She said: "The results of this study suggest that early menopause is a significant risk factor for osteoporosis, fragility fracture and mortality in a long-term perspective."
Other risk factors for osteoporosis include having a family history of the disease, low body mass index, long-term steroid use and heavy smoking.
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