Attaining menopause as early as the age of 45 or lower can come with a lot of complications. On the positive side, a new study has added to the list of what can reduce the risk of early menopause and thus reduce health issues in older females. According to this study, pregnancy and breastfeeding for seven to 12 months can significantly reduce the risk of early menopause before the age of 45.
Existing research suggests that early menopause could add to the risk of cognitive decline, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and even early death. The new study sought to understand the association of parity and breastfeeding to early menopause risk. Parity refers to the number of pregnancies carried for a viable gestational age.
“The study results provide the strongest evidence to date that exclusive breastfeeding may reduce the risk of early menopause,” said Lisa Halvorson, M.D., chief of the NICHD Gynaecological Health and Disease Branch, which oversaw the research.
The data from the Nurses’ Health Study II were analyzed for the purpose of this research. It was found that women who had a full-term pregnancy were at an 8% lower risk of early menopause as compared to women who had not been pregnant or women who had been pregnant for less than six months. A second pregnancy increased the difference by 16%, while a third pregnancy reduced the risk by 22%.
On the other hand, breastfeeding for more than two years led to a 26% lower risk of early menopause as compared to women who breastfed for less than a month. Surprisingly, women who breastfed for a span of seven to 12 months had a 28% reduced risk in comparison.
While the study involved 100,000 participants between the ages of 25 to 42 years, the study could not arrive at why such an association exists. One hypothesis talks about pregnancy and breastfeeding halting the process of ovulation for the span, in turn delaying menopause. The paper was published in the JAMA Network Open.