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By Lucy Notarantonio
Senior Reporter
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Women who experience menopause at a younger age may face greater health risks if they are also dealing with social and economic challenges, according to new research.
Premature menopause occurs when periods stop naturally before age 40, while early menopause refers to menopause between ages 40 and 45, affecting about 2 million women in the U.S. per year.
A large study of nearly 20,000 women found that disadvantages such as financial hardship, lower levels of education and unemployment were linked to poorer long-term health outcomes among women whose periods stopped naturally before the typical age.
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Researchers say the findings highlight the importance of looking beyond medical factors alone when caring for women who experience early menopause.
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How Social Circumstances Can Affect Health
The study, published in the journal Menopause, examined women who went through natural menopause before the age of 48.
Previous research has shown that women who enter menopause before age 45 face a higher risk of health problems including heart disease, dementia and premature death. However, less was known about how social and economic circumstances might influence those risks.
To investigate, researchers analyzed data from almost 20,000 women and grouped them according to 14 social determinants of health. These factors include the conditions in which people are born, live, work, learn and age.
Participants were categorized into favorable, medium and unfavorable social-determinant groups and followed for a median of 10.8 years.
Unemployment Stood Out Among Risk Factors
The results showed that social and economic disadvantages significantly worsened health outcomes among women with early natural menopause.
Of all the factors examined, unemployment had the strongest association with both all-cause mortality, meaning death from any cause, and newly diagnosed dementia. Researchers also found links between social disadvantage and cardiovascular disease.
Newsweek spoke to Dr. Nikki Ramskill, women’s health general practitioner, who was not involved in the study.
She said: "This study adds important weight to something many of us in menopause care already suspect from clinic: biology alone doesn't determine a woman's outcomes after early menopause; her circumstances do too."
Ramskill, the founder of The Female Health Doctor Clinic, explained that financial insecurity brings chronic stress, delayed healthcare access and often poorer diet and activity levels.
"All of which compound the cardiovascular and cognitive risks that early menopause already carries," she added.
However, the study did not find a significant association between social disadvantage and cancer risk.
The researchers said socioeconomic disadvantages appeared to amplify the health risks already associated with early menopause.
Calls for Broader Menopause Care
The findings suggest healthcare providers should consider a woman's social circumstances alongside her medical history when managing early menopause.
Ramskill said a key takeaway for clinicians is that early menopause needs more than a prescription. Women need a "conversation about her wider life circumstances and where relevant, signposting to support."
Social determinants of health are the social, economic and environmental conditions that can shape a person's health. These include factors such as employment, income, housing and education.
Because these challenges often overlap, the researchers said it is important to consider their combined effect on health rather than looking at each factor individually.
"This study demonstrates that socioeconomic disadvantages significantly amplify adverse health trajectories in women with premature and early menopause," Dr. Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society, said in a statement.
"Disrupting this complex interaction will require a routine, comprehensive assessment of social determinants of health as a fundamental principle in the management of women experiencing premature or early menopause."
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Charlotte Nisbet and James Debens
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