Women who smoke can enter menopause about a year earlier than non-smokers, according to a new meta-analysis.

The author of the study, Dr. Volodymyr Dvornyk (University of Hong Kong) said that women "need to be aware of this effect and the possible health consequences" of smoking, in addition to other known risks.

Combined data from six studies that included approximately 6,000 women in the US, Poland, Turkey and Iran showed that non-smokers reached menopause between the ages of 46 and 51, on average, depending on the study population. In all studies, except for two, smokers were younger - between 43 and 50 years.

Dr. Dvornik and his colleagues also analyzed five other studies that used cut-off age of 50 or 51 to stratify women into groups of "early" and "late" menopause. Among the more than 43,000 women included in the analysis, smokers had a 43% higher probability of early menopause, compared with non-smokers.

"Our results provide new evidence that smoking is associated with the early age of menopause," the authors write in a report published in the online issue of "Menopause" of September 19.

"Everyone agrees that earlier menopause is likely to be associated with an increase in the number and a higher risk of post-menopausal health problems such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, Alzheimer's disease, and others," said Dr. Dvornik.

In general, early menopause is also thought to slightly increase the risk of a woman's death in later years, added Dr. Dvornik.

News. Gradusnik. En.