Age at Natural Menopause in Women Living with HIV: A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing Self-Reported and Biochemical Data

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 15; no. 5; p. 1058
• Main Authors: Swann, Shayda A, King, Elizabeth M, Tognazzini, Shelly, Campbell, Amber R, Levy, Sofia L A, Pick, Neora, Prior, Jerilynn C, Elwood, Chelsea, Loutfy, Mona, Nicholson, Valerie, Kaida, Angela, Côté, Hélène C F, Murray, Melanie C M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 26.04.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Age; Aging; AIDS; Amenorrhea; Body mass index; Cognitive ability; Cohort analysis; Community; Cross-Sectional Studies; Data collection; Demographic aspects; Demographics; early menopause; Ethnicity; Female; Follicle-stimulating hormone; Health aspects; Hepatitis; HIV; HIV patients; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Menopause; Menopause - psychology; menopause age; Menstruation; Narcotics; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Reproductive health; Self Report; Sensitivity analysis; Social networks; Women; Womens health; women’s health; Canada; United States > US; menopause age; follicle-stimulating hormone; women’s health; HIV; early menopause
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v15051058

Early menopause (<45 years) has significant impacts on bone, cardiovascular, and cognitive health. Several studies have suggested earlier menopause for women living with HIV; however, the current literature is limited by reliance on self-report data. We determined age at menopause in women living with HIV and socio-demographically similar HIV-negative women based on both self-report of menopause status (no menses for ≥12 months) and biochemical confirmation (defined as above plus follicle-stimulating hormone level ≥ 25 IU/mL). Multivariable median regression models assessed factors associated with menopause age, controlling for relevant confounders. Overall, 91 women living with HIV and 98 HIV-negative women were categorized as menopausal by self-report, compared to 83 and 92 by biochemical confirmation. Age at menopause did not differ significantly between groups, whether based on self-report (median [IQR]: 49.0 [45.3 to 53.0] vs. 50.0 [46.0 to 53.0] years; = 0.28) or biochemical confirmation (50.0 [46.0 to 53.0] vs. 51.0 [46.0 to 53.0] years; = 0.54). In the multivariable model, no HIV-related or psychosocial variables were associated with earlier age at menopause (all > 0.05). Overall, HIV status per se was not statistically associated with an earlier age at menopause, emphasizing the importance of comparing socio-demographically similar women in reproductive health and HIV research.