If you had your first period before your were 10 years old or after your were 17 years old, your may be at higher risk for having heart disease later in life, according to a British study of more than one million women.
A woman who had her first menstrual cycle at age 10 or earlier was 27% more likely to have heart disease after age 50. A woman who had her first after age 17 was 23% more likely to have heart disease. A similar raised risk of two other cardiovascular problems-stroke and high blood pressure-was also found in the same study for these women.
Researchers from the University of Oxford used information from more than 1.2 million women aged 50 and older who are taking part in the Million Women Study. This is a collaborative effort between the United Kingdom's National Health Service and Cancer Research UK.
Women enrolled in the study at age 50 and were followed for an average of 11.6 years. When they enrolled, they were asked about their menstrual history. About 73,400 women were hospitalized for heart disease or died from it and another 25,400 had a stroke. In addition, 249,400 had high blood pressure.
The start of menstrual cycles is called menarche. Only a small percentage of women have their first periods either very early or very late. In this study, 4% of women said they were age 10 or under and 1% said they were 17 or older. Twenty-five percent of the women in this study had their first period at age 13, which is a general average age for menarche.
Being overweight or obese is associated with having an early first menstrual cycle. Childhood obesity may be why a very early menarche may be linked with cardiovascular disease.
Other studies have found a link between the timing of a first period and heart disease, but these findings have not been consistent.