According to a new study women who said they’d typically had irregular periods in the past were 28 percent more likely than women who reported regular monthly periods to develop heart disease.
The study, which followed more than 23,000 Dutch women for a decade, found that there was no increased risk seen among women who reported regularly long menstrual cycles (30 or more days between periods) or regularly short cycles (26 or fewer days between periods).
Despite their relatively higher risk, though, the large majority of women with irregular periods did not develop heart problems during the study period. Of the roughly 4,000 women who reported a history of irregular periods, 150 were diagnosed with coronary heart disease over the next 10 years.
Just over 17,000 study participants reported having either regular monthly periods (between 27 and 29 days) or regularly short cycles. Of those women, 530 developed coronary heart disease.
The women were 50 years old, on average, at the start of the study.
It’s known that women with a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have higher risks of heart disease and type 2 diabetes than other women their age. In that disorder, the ovaries produce higher-than-normal amounts of male hormones and menstrual periods are irregular or completely absent.
Reserachers found no evidence that altered hormone levels explained the association between irregular periods and heart disease risk. Nor did factors such as body weight, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol account for the link.
In this study, women with irregular periods tended to have a higher risk of type 2 diabetes than those with monthly periods; however, the association was not statistically significant — meaning the finding may have occurred by chance.
Reported by the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance.
LEARN MORE ABOUT LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE PROTECTION. Get a free, no obligation quote for Long-Term Care Insurance from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. Click here now!
INSURANCE AGENTS. SELL MORE LONG-TERM CARE INSURANCE PROTECTION. Visit the Association's Online LTC Learning, Marketing & Sales Center. Click here now!
HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT CRITICAL ILLNESS INSURANCE? Learn more from the American Association for Critical Illness Insurance. Click here now!
MEDICARE SUPPLEMENT INSURANCE COSTS
Click here to learn more!