Hypertension and age at onset of natural menopause in Korean postmenopausal women: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2008–2013)

•Estrogen plays a role in preventing atherosclerosis.•There are associations between age at onset of menopause and oral contraceptive usage, household income, education level, smoking, and drinking.•Hypertension status is significantly associated with age at onset of menopause.

ObjectivesMenopause is a natural phenomenon of aging, although the timing and management of menopause can significantly affect a woman’s quality of life. It is therefore important to identify measures to ensure a healthy menopause. We set out to investigate the association between hypertension and early menopause in Korean women.Study designThis cross-sectional study was based on 2008–2013 data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Of the 53,829 participants surveyed, 13,584 women were selected. We analyzed the contents of the health interview, health examination, and nutrition survey.Main outcome measureThe main outcome was defined based on hazard ratios (HR) to identify the effects of hypertension on age at onset of menopause.ResultsAmong postmenopausal women (n = 6650), the mean age at onset of menopause was 50.4 years. Premenopausal hypertension was statistically significantly associated with age at menopause, oral contraceptive usage, household income, education level, occupation, marital status and smoking and drinking habits. With lower age at diagnosis of hypertension, HRs for menopause tended to be higher, and hypertension diagnosed before age 40 years conferred a statistically significantly higher HR (Model 1, HR = 2.32, 95% CI = 1.87–2.88; Model 2, HR = 2.31, 95% CI = 1.86–2.86; Model 3, HR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.80–2.77; Model 4, HR = 2.00, 95% CI = 1.52–2.63).ConclusionPremature menopause is strongly associated with lifestyle factors, in combination with incomplete management of chronic diseases. Our findings support the hypothesis that younger age at diagnosis of hypertension is associated with younger age at onset of menopause in Korean women.