Median age of natural menopause earlier for women residing in neighborhoods with very high versus very low social vulnerability<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, May 29, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Women residing in U.S. neighborhoods with high social vulnerability have a higher risk for earlier natural menopause, according to a study published online May 22 in JAMA Network Open<\/em>.<\/p>\n Zhi Lin, from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined the association of the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) with age of natural menopause onset and menopausal symptom severity in a cohort study using data from a prospective cohort of women. Participant inclusion required geocoded residential addresses at enrollment (1999 to 2002), eight-year follow-up (2006 to 2010), and 13-year follow-up (2012 to 2016).<\/p>\n Of the 691 women included in the study, 12.6, 6.0, and 6.2 percent resided in neighborhoods with a very high SVI at enrollment, at eight-year follow-up, and at 13-year follow-up, respectively. The median age of natural menopause was earlier for women residing in neighborhoods with very high versus very low SVI at enrollment (52.0 versus 53.0 years), eight-year follow-up (51.0 versus 53.0 years), and 13-year follow-up (51.0 versus 53.0 years). The risk for earlier natural menopause was higher in association with residence in neighborhoods with a very high versus very low SVI at enrollment, eight-year follow-up, and 13-year follow-up. There was no association for SVI with menopausal symptoms.<\/p>\n “The study highlighted the need to address disparate contexts within neighborhoods to achieve more equitable reproductive health outcomes in women,” the authors write.<\/p>\n One author disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.<\/p>\n