Does What You Eat Affect When You Reach Menopause?

To find out if dietary intake influences the timing of natural menopause, investigators analyzed data from the U.K. Women's Cohort Study, a large, long-term study of diet's health effects. Among some 14,000 participants, 914 (age range, 40–64) reported still menstruating at baseline and having ceased (without surgery or pregnancy) 4 years later. Mean age at menopause was 50.5 and mean body-mass index was 23.9 kg/m² (9.6% were obese). Most women were married, parous, and working at professional or managerial jobs. Only 8% smoked, and mean alcohol consumption was low. A validated food frequency questionnaire was used to assess daily intake of 217 foods. About 38% of participants reported following vegetarian diets.

In a model adjusted for base…