Entering menopause before age 40 is linked to a 35% higher risk of developing dementia later in life, a preliminary study finds.
Premature menopause, as it is called, occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop creating hormones and the menstrual cycle ends by age 40. That’s about a dozen years earlier than the typical onset of menopause, which is age 52 in the United States.
When women enter menopause, estrogen levels plummet, which may be one reason for the study’s findings, said study author Wenting Hao, a doctoral candidate at Shandong University in Jinan, China.
“We know that the lack of estrogen over the long term enhances oxidative stress, which may increase brain aging and lead to cognitive impairment,” Hao said.
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There are a number of ways women who experience early menopause may be able to reduce their risk of cognitive decline, Hao said.
“This includes routine exercise, participation in leisure and educational activities, not smoking and not drinking alcohol (and) maintaining a healthy weight,” Hao said. “Being aware of this increased risk can help women practice strategies to prevent dementia and to work with their physicians to closely monitor their cognitive status as they age.”
