Early natural menopause is associated with poor lung health and increased mortality among female smokers
Ting Zhai, Brenda Diergaarde, David O. Wilson, Huining Kang, Akshay Sood, Samuel H. Bayliss, Jian-Min Yuan, Maria A. Picchi, Qing Lan, Steven A. Belinsky, Jill M. Siegfried, Linda S. Cook, and Shuguang Leng
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, 2022
Cigarette smoking is the most harmful factor for lung health. Early natural menopause is a biomarker of reproductive and somatic aging. Understanding the effect of early menopause on health outcomes in middle-aged and older female smokers is important to develop preventive strategies. Early natural menopause was associated with worse lung health, accelerated lung aging, and higher all-cause and respiratory mortality. Females with early natural menopause who continued smoking had a dramatically (>4.5-fold) increased risk of lung cancer (LC) and cancer-specific mortality. The effects of early menopause on lung health and aging sequela were rarely studied in female smokers. This study has provided strong evidence supporting the importance of maintaining lung health in female smokers with early natural menopause. Moreover, female smokers with early natural menopause should be targeted for smoking cessation and LC screening.