Pre-menarche type 1 diabetes linked to shorter reproductive period

Women who developed type 1 diabetes (T1D) prior to menarche have shorter reproductive period, experiencing delayed menarche and earlier natural menopause, compared with nondiabetic women, as suggested in a study.

The study included 105 women with childhood-onset T1D from the prospective Epidemiology of Diabetes Complications (EDC) study and 178 nondiabetic women from the Pittsburgh site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). All participants had reached natural menopause, and none of them had hysterectomy/oophorectomy before menopause and sex hormone therapy during the menopausal transition.

Reproductive history was self-reported, while menopause status was assessed using the historical and Women's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation hormonal algorithms.

Compared with nondiabetic controls, T1D patients were younger, more likely to be white, never smokers, had lower body mass index, and higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels (p<0.05 for all).

Multivariate analysis showed that women with T1D were also older at menarche (0.5-year delay; p=0.002) but younger at natural menopause (−2.0 years; p<0.0001). Women with T1D had 2.5-fewer reproductive years compared with controls (p<0.0001).

The findings were restricted to the subgroup of T1D patients whose condition was diagnosed before reaching menarche (n=80).

More studies are needed to establish factors that may be related to a shorter reproductive period in women with T1D.