Women with disrupted menstrual cycles may have adverse effects on cardiovascular health

A 12-year study of more than 58,000 women found that men with longer or shorter menstrual cycles had a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, heart attack or atrial fibrillation (AFib), according to a study today. The results of a new study published in the journal of American Heart Association Journalan open access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

A regular menstrual cycle, defined as a cycle length between 22 and 34 days, throughout a woman’s reproductive life, regulates the normal functioning of the hormonal system connected between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and ovaries. It reflects and is an important indicator of overall health. Previous studies have shown that irregular menstrual cycles are a common endocrine disorder, with approximately 20% of women experiencing long or variable length cycles.

Previous studies have found that irregular menstrual cycles are significantly associated with multiple heart disease risk factors, including insulin resistance, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, chronic inflammation, and polycystic ovary syndrome. . Other studies have found that women are at higher risk of arrhythmias or irregular heartbeats due to hormonal fluctuations in their menstrual cycle.

The association between menstrual cycle characteristics and adverse cardiovascular outcomes remains unclear. Considering the increasing prevalence of heart disease–which affects her 45% of women in Western countries—and the associated mortality rate–there is a need to investigate these risk factors. I have. ”

Huijie Zhang, MD, Ph.D., Lead Author, Physician, Professor, Southern Hospital, Southern Medical University, China

The researchers analyzed data from the UK Biobank to investigate whether self-reported menstrual cycle length was associated with overall heart disease and specific cardiovascular events in women. The UK Biobank is a large database of health information for more than 500,000 of her adults registered from 2006 to 2010 and receiving treatment through the UK National Health Service. The study included health data from 58,056 women with a mean age of 46 years and no cardiovascular disease at the start of the study period. Health data were collected through four follow-up surveys conducted in 2006-2010, 2012-2013, 2014 and 2019. Participants who were menopausal at the start of the study were excluded. The end date of the study period was 30 November 2020, the latest date for which health data were available for this analysis.

Over 1,600 cardiovascular events, including coronary heart disease, heart attack, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and heart failure, occurred among participants during a median follow-up of 12 years. As a result of the analysis, we found the following.

• A menstrual cycle of less than 21 days or more than 35 days was associated with a 19% higher risk of heart disease in these women compared to women with a normal menstrual cycle, defined as 22-34 days in this study. was doing. 40% higher risk of atrial fibrillation.
• A shorter menstrual cycle increases the risk of a CVD event by 29%. including coronary heart disease, heart attack, atrial fibrillation, stroke, heart failure; was related.
• A short menstrual cycle is associated with a 38% increased risk of atrial fibrillation, and a long menstrual cycle is associated with a 30% increased risk of atrial fibrillation compared to a normal menstrual cycle.
• Menstrual cycle length was not associated with increased risk of stroke or heart failure.

This increased risk of cardiovascular disease was distinct from other risk factors such as age, ethnicity, body mass index or body mass index, body mass index, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, baseline cholesterol levels, and history of hypertension or type 2 diabetes. Independently observed in females. , history of oral contraceptive use or hormone replacement therapy, family history of heart disease or stroke.

“Our analysis indicates that women with disrupted menstrual cycles may have adverse effects on cardiovascular health. Thus, people with irregular menstrual cycle patterns develop heart disease.” We need to raise awareness that there is a high possibility,” Zhang said. “These findings have important public health implications for the prevention of atrial fibrillation and heart attacks in women, and highlight the importance of monitoring menstrual cycle characteristics throughout a woman’s reproductive life.”

This study had several limitations, including that the menstrual cycle question relied on participants’ interpretation of their irregular menstrual cycle length. The researchers could not rule out a potential impact of the menopausal transition on irregular menstrual cycles because data from younger participants, including hormone levels, were not available. Furthermore, as the UK Biobank dataset is a population of older adults (ages 40-69), the majority of whom identify as Caucasian, the results of this study are not consistent with a wide range of racial or ethnic backgrounds. and may not generalize to women with