• Hend Mansoor, Islam Y Elgendy, Richard Segal, and Abraham Hartzema.
• 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy, University of Florida , Gainesville, Florida.
• J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2017 Oct 1; 26 (10): 1047-1052.

BackgroundStudies have shown conflicting information regarding the association between the age at menarche and/or menopause and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in older women. This study aimed to determine whether a longer duration of reproductive years in older women in the U.S. population was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.Materials And MethodsWomen ≥60 years who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2007 to 2012 were included. Subjects provided information about the age of menarche and menopause along with the presence/absence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Participants were categorized into either a longer reproductive duration group (>30 years) or shorter reproductive duration group (≤30 years). Subgroup analysis for each 5-year increment in the longer reproductive duration group was conducted. Relative risk (RR) regression was performed using a generalized linear model adjusting for several confounding factors.Results3081 participants were included in the analysis. A longer duration of reproductive years was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, compared with a shorter duration (RR 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.53-0.92). This association was due to a reduction in the risk of stroke (RR 0.53, 95% CI 0.34-0.88) and angina (RR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34-0.97). A 1 year increase in the reproductive duration was associated with a 3% reduction in the risk of events (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.95-0.99).ConclusionAmong women ≥60 years, a longer duration of reproductive years was associated with lower risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This association was mainly due to a reduction in the risk of stroke and angina.

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