Premature or Delayed Onset of Period Increases Risk of Heart Disease and Stroke Later in Life

Women, whose onset of puberty was either delayed or premature, are at higher risk of cerebrovascular and cardiovascular disease.

Researchers from University of Oxford set ages 10 and 17 as cut-off years for risk elevation by pointing out that menarche at 10 years (or earlier) and at 17 years (or later) increased the risk of hospitalization due to cardiovascular disease and stroke by 27 %, when compared to women whose onset of menarche happened at the age of 13. The study saw participation of 1.3 million aged 50 through 64 years, over a decade, Hindustan Times reported.

"Early menarche has been associated with increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) but most studies were relatively small and could not assess risk across a wide range of menarcheal ages; few have examined associations with other vascular diseases. We examined coronary, cerebrovascular and hypertensive disease risks by age at menarche in a large prospective study of UK women," researchers said in the study published in the journal Circulation,

"The relation of age at menarche to vascular disease risk was U-shaped, with both early and late menarche being associated with increased risk."

The study concluded that age 13 was the safest time for menarche (first menstrual cycle).

"Childhood obesity, widespread in many industrialized countries, is linked particularly to early age at which the first menstrual cycle occurs. Public health strategies to tackle childhood obesity may possibly prevent the lowering of the average age of first menstrual cycle, which may in turn reduce their risk of developing heart disease over the long term," said Dexter Canoy, study's lead author, according to Financial Express.