RELIABILITY OF REPORTED AGE AT MENOPAUSE

Age at menopause is an important epidemiologic characteristic whose re liability of reporting in the US population is not known. The authors examined four hypotheses about the reliability of reported age at meno pause in the United States: 1) women with hysterectomy-induced menopau se more reliably report their age at menopause than women who have und ergone natural menopause; 2) reliability declines with time since meno pause; 3) reliability declines with age; and 4) women with higher educ ational levels report their age at menopause more reliably than women with less education. The authors used linear regression models among 2 ,545 women in the First National Health and Nutrition Examination Surv ey and Followup Study (1971-1984) and compared responses at first and follow-up interviews. Among women who had undergone a natural menopaus e, 44% reported their age. at menopause within one year from the first to second interviews; among women who had undergone a hysterectomy-in duced menopause, 59% reported their age at menopause within one year f rom first to follow-up interviews. Only hysterectomy status and years from menopause to follow-up interview were significantly associated wi th the absolute difference between age at menopause reported at first and follow-up interviews. The authors conclude that caution in studies involving age at menopause may enhance our understanding of this crit ical event in the lives of women.