Age at menopause in Latin America

OBJECTIVE: To assess the age at menopause (AM) in Latin America urban areas. DESIGN: A total of 17,150 healthy women, aged 40 to 59 years, accompanying patients to healthcare centers in 47 cities of 15 Latin American countries, were surveyed regarding their age, educational level, healthcare coverag...

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Autores:
Tipo de recurso:
Fecha de publicación:
2006
Institución:
Universidad del Rosario
Repositorio:
Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
Idioma:
eng
OAI Identifier:
oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/22583
Acceso en línea:
https://doi.org/10.1097/01.gme.0000227338.73738.2d
https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/22583
Palabra clave:
Oral contraceptive agent
Adult
Article
Calculation
Controlled study
Education
Female
Gynecologic surgery
Health care
Health center
Hormonal therapy
Human
Logistic regression analysis
Menopause
Menstruation
Normal human
Onset age
Oral contraception
Smoking
South and central america
Urban area
Adult
Age factors
Altitude
Cross-sectional studies
Estrogen replacement therapy
Female
Humans
Latin america
Logistic models
Menopause
Middle aged
Questionnaires
Risk factors
Socioeconomic factors
South america
Age at menopause
Climacteric
Latin america
Menopause onset
Risk factors
oral
combined
Contraceptives
Rights
License
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Description
Summary:OBJECTIVE: To assess the age at menopause (AM) in Latin America urban areas. DESIGN: A total of 17,150 healthy women, aged 40 to 59 years, accompanying patients to healthcare centers in 47 cities of 15 Latin American countries, were surveyed regarding their age, educational level, healthcare coverage, history of gynecological surgery, smoking habit, presence of menses, and the use of contraception or hormone therapy at menopause. The AM was calculated using logit analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of the entire sample was 49.4 ± 5.5 years. Mean educational level was 9.9 ± 4.5 years, and the use of hormone therapy and oral contraception was 22.1% and 7.9%, respectively. The median AM of women in all centers was 48.6 years, ranging from 43.8 years in Asuncion (Paraguay) to 53 years in Cartagena de Indias (Colombia). Logistic regression analysis determined that women aged 49 living in cities at 2,000 meters or more above sea level (OR = 2.0, 95% CI: 1.4-2.9, P less than 0.001) and those with lower educational level (OR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.3-2.8, P less than 0.001) or living in countries with low gross national product (OR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.5-2.9, P less than 0.001) were more prone to an earlier onset of menopause. CONCLUSIONS: The AM varies widely in Latin America. Lower income and related poverty conditions influence the onset of menopause. © 2006 by The North American Menopause Society.