Associação entre idade na menarca e fatores de risco cardiovascular em uma população brasileira: estudo Corações de Baependi

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death in Brazil and worldwide. Cardiometabolic, environmental, social, and behavioral factors are intrinsically related to this high incidence, even when considering the female gender. Recent studies have demonstrated the association between early menarche and cardiovascular risk factors. However, the possible factors capable of mediating this association are not clearly known. Thus, the present study aims to evaluate whether early menarche is associated with obesity and hypertension in adulthood. For this, 1524 women aged between 18 and 100 years residents in the city of Baependi- MG, were evaluated. Information related to the women's reproductive life, including age at menarche and menopause, was collected through a specific questionnaire. Hemodynamic, anthropometric, and biochemical variables were evaluated using standard protocols. The results showed that the mean age of the women was 45.5 years and 21.3% of them had early menarche. The frequency of hypertension was 38.7%. The age at menarche was lower in postmenopausal women. In premenopausal women, the presence of early menarche increased the odds of hypertension by 58% in a model adjusted for age, obesity, and smoking [(OR 1.581;(95%CI 1.016-2.461)]. However, in postmenopausal women, age, obesity, and DM were the only predictors of hypertension, while early menarche was not included in the model. We hope that the present study will provide additional information on the association between early menarche and cardiovascular risk factors since identifying these factors and their possible mediators can contribute to developing more timely primary prevention strategies to produce better clinical outcomes.