Loci at chromosomes 13, 19 and 20 influence age at natural menopause

André Uitterlinden and colleagues report a genome-wide association study for age at natural menopause, from the Rotterdam Study and TwinsUK, with replication in additional cohorts. They report three loci associated with age at natural menopause, which is a known risk factor for several cancers, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. We conducted a genome-wide association study for age at natural menopause in 2,979 European women and identified six SNPs in three loci associated with age at natural menopause: chromosome 19q13.4 (rs1172822; –0.4 year per T allele (39%); P = 6.3 × 10 −11 ), chromosome 20p12.3 (rs236114; +0.5 year per A allele (21%); P = 9.7 × 10 −11 ) and chromosome 13q34 (rs7333181; +0.5 year per A allele (12%); P = 2.5 × 10 −8 ). These common genetic variants regulate timing of ovarian aging, an important risk factor for breast cancer, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.