Premature Menopause Linked to 40% Higher CHD Risk

A new study has found that women who experience natural menopause before age 40 face a roughly 40 percent higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease compared to those who enter menopause later, with Black women three times more likely to undergo this premature transition. Published on March 18 in JAMA Cardiology, the research draws from data on more than 10,000 postmenopausal women tracked across six long-term U.S. studies from 1964 to 2018, including the Framingham Heart Study and the Women's Health Initiative.

The analysis, led by Dr. Priya Freaney, an assistant professor of medicine in cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, examined 10,036 Black and white women without prior heart disease at enrollment. Over the follow-up period, averaging 15 years, more than 1,000 developed coronary heart disease, defined as blockages in the heart's arteries from plaque buildup that can lead to heart attacks or weakened heart muscle. After adjusting for factors like smoking, obesity, hypertension, and diabetes, premature menopause remained linked to a 41 percent increased risk for Black women and 39 percent for white women.

Premature menopause, marked by 12...