Factors associated with menstrual cycle irregularity and menopause

Abstract

BackgroundA regular menstrual cycle is an important indicator of a healthy reproductive system. Previous studies reported obesity, stress, and smoking as the factors that are associated with irregular menstruation and early menopause. However, the integrative effects of these modifiable risk factors have not been fully understood. This study aimed to investigate the modifiable risk factors of menstrual cycle irregularity and premature menopause, as well as their individual and combined effects among adult women in Korea.MethodThis study selected adult women aged 19 years and above who had been included in the 2007–2014 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We used a separate dataset to analyze the risk factors of menstrual cycle irregularity and menopause (pre- and postmenopausal women: n = 4788 and n = 10,697, respectively). Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the effects of smoking, drinking, obesity, and perceived level of stress on the menstrual cycle and menopause. Both logit and linear models were used in the analyses of the association between smoking and menopausal age. Equivalized household income, marital status, and educational level were considered as covariates. The modifiable risk factor scores were also calculated to integrate the effect of smoking, drinking, and obesity in the analysis.ResultResults showed that smoking status, pack-year, obesity, and perceived level of stress were significantly associated with irregular menstruation among premenopausal women. Especially, women demonstrating > 3 modifiable risk factor scores had 1.7 times higher risk of having irregular menstruation than those who had a 0 score. Meanwhile, early initiation of smoking (≤19 years) and high pack-year (≥5) were also significantly associated with premature menopause among postmenopausal women.ConclusionThis study demonstrated that modifiable risk factors, such as smoking, obesity, and stress, were significantly associated with menstrual cycle irregularity. Lifetime smoking was also correlated with early menopause. Our results suggested that healthier lifestyle practices, including, cessation of smoking, weight control, and stress management, were important factors in improving the reproductive health of women throughout life.

Is body mass index associated with irregular menstruation: A questionnaire study?

“…In our present study we did not nd any difference in both the length of menstrual cycles and the length of menses among groups according to BMI categories, although previous studies found such association [2][3][4][5][6][7] . Again, the difference could be explained by the age of women who participated in these studies.…”

“…To date, studies about the association between BMI and menstrual blood loss are very limited since most studies investigated the association between BMI and irregular menstrual cycle lengths [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] . A previous study reported a higher incidence of heavy menstrual blood loss and longer menstrual cycle and irregular menstrual cycle in overweight women 2 .…”

Menstrual knowledge and practices of Pakistani girls: A multicenter, cross-sectional study

“…Aforementioned menstrual disorders had a negative impact on the quality of life as it resulted in class absenteeism, social restrictions and limited academic, sports and daily activities (Unsal et al, 2010). An increased risk of menstrual disorders has been associated with obesity, smoking, coffee consumption, menstrual bleeding >7 days and a positive family history of dysmenorrhea and PMS (Bae et al, 2018;Unsal et al, 2010). Psychological stress is also known to be independently associated with premenstrual symptoms and the experience of irregular menstrual cycles among college students (Rafique and Al-Sheikh, 2018;Yamamoto et al, 2009).…”

Menstrual disorders and their determinants among women with epilepsy

“…We were also interested if there was any additional impact of nonneurological comorbidities or chronically used medications, as the prevalence of menstrual abnormalities in general population is influenced by smoking, obesity, and chronic stress. 8 …”