Breastfeeding may Optimize timing of natural menopause and reduce risks of early surgical and indeterminate menopause: Study

Flexible parametric survival analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze menopause timing and type, respectively, according to lactation status and controlling for birth year, education, parity, hormonal contraceptive use, and smoking. Results: In a dose-response manner, longer lactation was associated with reduced risk of natural menopause before age 50 (for ≥ 13 months of lactation, adjusted hazard ratio at age 45: 0.68, 95% CI 0.59–0.78), surgical menopause before age 55 (age 45: 0.56, 0.50–0.63), and indeterminate menopause before age 50 (age 45: 0.75, 0.69–0.82).

Longer lactation was associated with lower odds of surgical (adjusted odds ratio 0.54, 95% CI 0.45–0.66) and indeterminate menopause (0.63, 0.55–0.73), compared to natural menopause. Optimizing the timing of natural menopause and reducing risks of early surgical and indeterminate menopause may be novel maternal benefits of breastfeeding.

Reference:

Scime, N.V., Huang, B., Brockway, M.M. et al. Association of lifetime lactation and characteristics of menopause: a longitudinal cohort study. BMC Public Health 24, 3112 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-20508-7