Determinants of age at menopause in Italy: results from a large cross-sectional study

Objective: To identify the determinants of age at menopause in an Italian p opulation, using data from the Italian Climacteric Research Group Study (IC ARUS). Methods: ICARUS is a prospective study of the effect of menopause on women's health that has been running in menopause clinics throughout Italy since 1995. A total of 4300 women with spontaneous menopause, aged 55 year s or more and observed for the first time at the participating centres are included in the present analysis. Results: The mean age at menopause in the total population was 50.9 years. After taking into account potential covar iates, the women reported smoking, had a slightly lower mean age at menopau se than non smokers 50.4 versus 50.9 years; P=0.01. The mean age at menopau se in nulliparae was 50.0 years, and, respectively 50.4, 50.6, 50.9, 51.2 a nd 50.9 years in those reporting 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 or more births (P < 0.01) . A low body mass index and an early age at menarche were associated with e arly menopause in the crude analysis, but these associations disappeared af ter taking into account the confounding factors. Conclusions: This study of fers an estimate of the mean age at menopause of women attending menopause clinics in Italy, on the basis of the data obtained from a large sample. It also indicates that smoking and nulliparity are associated with early meno pause. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.