Menopause: Prevention

To prevent climacterium praecox (premature menopause), attention must be paid to reducing individual risk factors.

Behavioral risk factors

  • Diet
    • Vegetarian diet
  • Pleasure food consumption
    • Tobacco (smoking) – early menopause (before age 45; approximately 5-10% of women) is dose-dependent in smokers with respect to nicotine abuse

Prevention factors (protective factors)

Biographical risk factors

  • Pregnancies: Women with 2 pregnancies had a 16% lower risk of premature menopause (ie, before age 45); women with 3 pregnancies had a 22% reduced risk
  • Breastfeeding: Women with 3 or more pregnancies who had exclusively breastfed for a total of 7 to 12 months had a 32% lower risk (versus women with the same number of children who had breastfed their children for a total of less than 1 month)

Behavioral risk factors

  • Diet
    • Increased consumption of plant proteins; limitation: information on protein intake is based solely on data from a Harvard food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).

To prevent later menopause, attention must be paid to reducing individual risk factors (due toprevention of endometrial cancer/uterine cancer).

Behavioral risk factors