Heart risk factors worsened faster before menopause
In 8,172 women in Japan, predicted 30-year cardiovascular disease risk rose from 9.8% to 14.7% during the five years before menopause.
Limit: Self-reported menopause timing could misplace when risk factors accelerated
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational cohort study followed 8,172 women in Japan who reached menopause during follow-up; their median age at menopause was 52. Researchers analyzed 93,545 annual health checkup visits from 2004 to 2024, with a median follow-up of 14 years.
The top blood pressure reading rose from 112.3 to 116.8 millimeters of mercury during the five years before menopause. “Bad” cholesterol rose from 109.5 to 124.1 mg/dL over that period. Both increased faster than in earlier years. Average hemoglobin A1c, a measure of blood sugar, rose from 5.4% to 5.6%. The researchers also observed faster increases in predicted long-term cardiovascular disease risk.
Why it matters
The authors identified the transition to menopause as a window for cardiovascular monitoring and preventive interventions in midlife women.
Caveats
This observational study, reported in a conference abstract, could not establish cause and effect; its cardiovascular risk estimates were predictions, not measured event rates. Menopause timing was self-reported, and the study excluded women using hormone therapy or with surgical menopause or unknown menopause timing.
- Predicted 30-year cardiovascular disease risk
- Menopausal transition
- Diastolic blood pressure
- HbA1c
- HDL cholesterol
- Humans
The paper
St. Luke's International Hospital; Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health
ESC Congress 2026 Abstract, Oct 26, 2026
Presented at ESC Congress 2026
