Physical activity, women are not associated with a risk of early menopause, according to the largest study ever conducted on this issue.
Until now, there was conflicting evidence on the relationship between physical activity and menopause. Some studies show that women who do a lot of exercise may decrease the risk of menopause before the age of 45 years, whereas other studies showed the opposite result.
However, a new study published in the journal Human Reproduction, one of the leading journals in reproductive medicine, leads the data analysis 107 275 American nurses monitored from 1989 to 2011, and shows no Association between physical activity at any age and early natural menopause.
Our results combined with other studies present strong evidence that physical activity is not related to early menopause, says Dr. Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson (Elizabeth Bertone-Johnson), a Professor of epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts (University of Massachusetts), who led the research.
The American nurses at the time, filled out questionnaires, reporting on their lifestyle and health. They, in particular, asked about how much time they devote to physical exercise (walking, running, Cycling, sports, swimming, aerobics, yoga), or action associated with physical activity, such as mowing lawns. The researchers also collected information on such factors as race, ethnicity, age, education, height, age, when women were first period if they were pregnant and how many times whether they had used oral contraceptives and had undergone any hormonal therapy. Also take into account factors such as weight, body mass index, Smoking, diet and supplementation.
To assess the frequency, duration and intensity of physical activity, the researchers multiplied the number of hours of exercise per week increased metabolic equivalent (MET) to calculate the total number of hours MET per week.
Over 20 years of observation 2786 of these women natural menopause started at the age of 45 years. The researchers found no significant difference in the risk of early menopause between women with high and low levels of physical activity. The amount of physical activity in their adolescence was not associated with risk of early menopause.
Although our results do not suggest that the relatively greater physical activity is associated with a lower risk of early menopause, we will encourage women in the premenopausal to engage in physical activity, as exercise is associated with several health benefits, including a lowered risk of heart disease, diabetes, breast cancer and other diseases. Our results in no way imply that women in premenopausal women does not have to be physically active, says lead author of the study, Mingfei Zhao (Zhao Mingfei), PhD student at the University of Massachusetts.
Researchers continue to study other factors that can play a role in the onset of early menopause.
Our results suggest that early menopause is associated with some environmental factors. We found that a higher consumption of calcium and vitamin D from dairy products is associated with a lower risk of early menopause. A higher consumption of vegetable protein also was associated with less risk, in contrast to animal protein consumption. Smoking was also associated with an increased risk, and underweight. Currently we are also exploring other factors, says Dr. Burton Johnson.
Dmitry Kolesnik