The Association of Age at Menopause with Fasting Glucose and Diabetes

Background Diabetes mellitus is a common chronic disease in postmenopausal women. However, little is known about whether early or delayed age at menopause increases the risk of postmenopausal diabetes. Objective To explore the correlation between the early or delayed age of menopause and fasting blood glucose and diabetes in natural postmenopausal women, so as to provide evidence for the prevention and control of diabetes in this population. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted using baseline survey data from 4 905 postmenopausal women aged 50 and older in the Guangzhou Prospective Cohort Study on Chronic Diseases in Middle-aged and Elderly Adults. Data were collected between November 2017 and January 2020, covering demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, lifestyle factors, medical history, and reproductive history. Physical examinations were conducted, including measurements of fasting blood glucose and blood lipid levels. The generalized linear regression (GLM) and Logistic regression models (LRM) were used to analyze the relationship of menopausal age with fasting blood glucose levels and diabetes. Results The mean age of the participants was (60.1±5.8) years and the mean age of menopause (50.3±3.1) years. Among them, 351 women experienced early menopause (≤45 years), 4 157 had normal menopause (46-54 years), and 397 had delayed menopause (≥55 years). Results from GLM showed that a linear association between menopausal age ≥50 years and fasting blood glucose (β=0.024, 95%CI=0.001-0.046, P