The research used data from more than 17,300 women between the ages of 20 and 65 years. Between 1999 and 2018, participants self-reported the age of their first menstrual period. It was also recorded whether they had developed type 2 diabetes.
Researchers from Tulane University in Louisiana discovered that 1,773 women, about 10% of the research group, developed type 2 diabetes.
On average, girls start menstruating at the age of thirteen. The analysis shows that women who have their first menstrual period at a younger age have an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life. Other factors that increase the risk have already been taken into account, such as age, diseases in the family and weight.
Women who started menstruating at age 10 or younger were 32% more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than women who started menstruating at age 13. At the age of 11, the risk is 14 percent higher, and at the age of 12, it reaches 29 percent.
A possible explanation is the amount of estrogen
Although the link between early menstruation and the development of type 2 diabetes has not yet been proven, researchers have a possible explanation. They think it has to do with estrogen.
“Women with a lower menarche (the age at which menstruation begins, ed.) are exposed to estrogen for a longer period of time.” Estrogen can affect the development of diabetes.
The researchers also discovered that the diabetic group was more likely to suffer a stroke if menstruation came at an early age. For women with diabetes who have their first menstrual period at age 10 or younger, the risk of stroke is approximately three times greater.
