Early Age at Menarche Associated with Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality

Context: The relationship between age at menarche and cardiovascular disease remains unclear. Two recent studies found an inverse association between age at menarche and all-cause mortality. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between age at menarche and cardiovascular disease risk factors, events, and mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants: A population-based prospective study involving 15,807 women, aged 40–79 yr in 1993–1997 and followed up to March 2007 for cardiovascular disease events (median follow-up 10.6 yr) and February 2008 for mortality (median follow-up 12.0 yr) was used. Main Outcome Measures: Odds ratios for cardiovascular disease risk factors and hazard ratios for incident cardiovascular disease and mortality were calculated. Results: There were 3888 incident cardiovascular disease events (1323 coronary heart disease, 602 stroke, and 1963 other) and 1903 deaths (640 cardiovascular disease, 782 cancer, and 481 other) during follow-up. Compared with other women, those who had early menarche (