Women who go through natural menopause before age 40 face a 40% higher lifetime risk of coronary heart disease, according to a new study published March 18 in JAMA CardiologyTrusted Source.
Premature menopause occurs when the ovaries stop functioning and menstrual periods end before age 40.
Current evidence suggests roughly 3–4% of women may experience some form of menopause before 40, which is higher than the previous 1% estimate for overt premature menopause. Black women are three times as likely to experience premature menopause as white women.
Researchers at Northwestern University analyzed data from more than 10,000 postmenopausal women across six major U.S. population-based studies from 1964 to 2018.
They found the 40% higher lifetime risk of heart attack or fatal coronary heart disease held up regardless of race.
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