The full Reuters story quotes the lead researcher as saying that this study does not show causality—early menopause directly causes heart events.

It does show that early menopause is a potential risk factor for heart disease.

Women who had an early menopause, in this study set at age 46, and their doctors should discuss ways to reduce their heart risks to the lowest level possible.

This study was presented at a meeting of the Endocrine Society. Meeting presentations are rated below publication in peer-reviewed journals. Final results may be changed between first presentation and publication.

Reuters

“Women who go through menopause early, before age 46, may have more than twice the risk of having a heart attack, stroke or other cardiovascular event later in life, researchers reported on Monday.

“The risk was the same even when women took hormone replacement therapy, which doctors once prescribed expressly to prevent heart disease, the researchers said at a meeting of the Endocrine Society in San Diego.

“It is important for women to know that early menopause is a potential risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the number one killer of American women,” Dr. Melissa Wellons of the the University of Alabama at Birmingham, who led the study, said in a statement.”

Source: Reuters, June 21, 2010

Citation: Endocrine Society Meeting Presentation, June 21, 2010