Are you a regular smoker? Here's one more reason to kick the habit: new research published in Menopause Journal shows it might cause women to hit menopause earlier than non-smokers. Health hazards associated with early menopause include a likely increase in the risk of getting osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity, says lead author Volodymyr Dvornyk of the University of Hongkong on Reuters.com. The researchers examined six past studies done on women from all over the globe. In four out of the six, they found out that smokers hit menopause from ages 43 to 50. Meanwhile, non-smokers averaged between 46 and 51. In five other studies, which looked at 43,000 women, they also discovered that smokers had a 43 percent higher chance of going into early menopause compared to their non-smoking counterparts.
Epidemiologist Jennie Kline from Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health says smokers could be going into early menopause because their smoking habit might have an effect on how the body manufactures estrogen. She adds that research also exists saying what makes up cigarette smoke could kill a woman's eggs.
Other factors that could affect early menopause were not considered in the study. The researchers also note that the data doesn't show how often and how many cigarettes the women smoked and its exact effects on menopause.
Want more information on smoking? Read up on FN:
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To learn more about menopause, check out this article:
(Photo by mice▲musculus via Flickr Creative Commons)
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