Hypertension and age at onset of natural menopause in Korean postmenopausal women: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008-2013)

Objectives: Menopause is a natural phenomenon of aging, although the timing and management of menopause can significantly affect a woman's quality of life. It is therefore important to identify measures to ensure a healthy menopause. We set out to investigate the association between hypertension and early menopause in Korean women. Study design: This cross-sectional study was based on 2008-2013 data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Of the 53,829 participants surveyed, 13,584 women were selected. We analyzed the contents of the health interview, health examination, and nutrition survey. Main outcome measure: The main outcome was defined based on hazard ratios (HR) to identify the effects of hypertension on age at onset of menopause. Results: Among postmenopausal women (n=6650), the mean age at onset of menopause was 50.4 years. Premenopausal hypertension was statistically significantly associated with age at menopause, oral contraceptive usage, household income, education level, occupation, marital status and smoking and drinking habits. With lower age at diagnosis of hypertension, HRs for menopause tended to be higher, and hypertension diagnosed before age 40 years conferred a statistically significantly higher HR (Model 1, HR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.87-2.88; Model 2, HR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.86-2.86; Model 3, HR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.80-2.77; Model 4, HR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.52-2.63). Conclusion: Premature menopause is strongly associated with lifestyle factors, in combination with incomplete management of chronic diseases. Our findings support the hypothesis that younger age at diagnosis of hypertension is associated with younger age at onset of menopause in Korean women. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.