Premature Menopause and Lifetime Risk of Coronary Heart Disease

Importance: Premature onset of menopause is associated with increased short-term risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), but the associated long-term CHD risk and whether this differs by self-identified race are not known. Objective: To calculate lifetime risk estimates of incident CHD and to estimate years lived free of and with CHD by premature menopause status stratified by self-identified race. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prospective population-based cohort study was conducted with 163 600 person-years of follow-up, from 1964 to 2018. Individual-level data from postmenopausal women (aged 55-69 years) who self-identified their race as Black or White across 6 US cohorts were included. All participants were free of CHD at baseline and had data on menopausal status and CHD outcomes. Individuals who self-reported surgically induced menopause were excluded. Exposure: Premature onset of natural menopause (age