Variability of reproductive history across the Swiss SAPALDIA cohort – Patterns and main determinants

Association of Informal Caregiving and Menopause Symptoms in Midlife Women: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE

To assess the association between caregiving and menopause symptom burden in midlife women.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted among women aged 45 to 60 years receiving primary care at 1 of 4 Mayo Clinic geographic locations between March 1 and June 30, 2021, who completed a survey study. Caregiving status was self-reported, and menopause symptoms were assessed using the Menopause Rating Scale. The primary outcome was moderate or worse menopause symptoms.

RESULTS

A total of 4295 women (mean age, 54.6 years) were included, 845 (19.7%) of whom self-identified as caregivers. Among all 4295 women, 1614 (37.6%) reported moderate to very severe menopause symptoms. The proportion of women with moderate or worse menopause symptoms in at least one symptom domain increased as the number of caregiving hours increased: 92 of 270 (34.1%) in the less than 5 hours per week group, 123 of 289 (42.6%) in the 5 to 14 hours per week group, and 144 of 286 (50.4%) in the 15 or more hours per week group (P<.001). In univariate analysis, caregiving for 15 or more hours per week significantly increased the odds of having moderate or worse menopause symptoms in at least one symptom domain compared to no caregiving (odds ratio, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.39 to 2.26; P<.001). The association remained significant in multivariable analysis after adjusting for potential confounders (odds ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.05 to 1.78; P=.02).

CONCLUSION

This study identified a positive association between caregiving hours and menopause symptom burden. Given the aging US population and likely resultant increases in caregiving burden, there is a critical need to address menopause symptoms and to provide support for midlife women in caregiving roles.

Sex differences in the SOFA score of ICU patients with sepsis or septic shock: a nationwide analysis

BACKGROUND

The Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is an important tool in diagnosing sepsis and quantifying organ dysfunction. However, despite emerging evidence of differences in sepsis pathophysiology between women and men, sex is currently not being considered in the SOFA score. We aimed to investigate potential sex-specific differences in organ dysfunction, as measured by the SOFA score, in patients with sepsis or septic shock and explore outcome associations.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of sex-specific differences in the SOFA score of prospectively enrolled ICU patients with sepsis or septic shock admitted to one of 85 certified Swiss ICUs between 01/2021 and 12/2022.

RESULTS

Of 125,782 patients, 5947 (5%) were admitted with a clinical diagnosis of sepsis (2244, 38%) or septic shock (3703, 62%). Of these, 5078 (37% women) were eligible for analysis. A statistically significant difference of the total SOFA score on admission was found between women (mean 7.5 ± SD 3.6 points) and men (7.8 ± 3.6 points, Wilcoxon rank-sum p < 0.001). This was driven by differences in the coagulation (p = 0.008), liver (p < 0.001) and renal (p < 0.001) SOFA components. Differences between sexes were more prominent in younger patients < 52 years of age (women 7.1 ± 4.0 points vs men 8.1 ± 4.2 points, p = 0.004). No sex-specific differences were found in ICU length of stay (women median 2.6 days (IQR 1.3-5.3) vs men 2.7 days (IQR 1.2-6.0), p = 0.13) and ICU mortality (women 14% vs men 15%, p = 0.17).

CONCLUSION

Sex-specific differences exist in the SOFA score of patients admitted to a Swiss ICU with sepsis or septic shock, particularly in laboratory-based components. Although the clinical meaningfulness of these differences is unclear, a reevaluation of sex-specific thresholds for SOFA score components is warranted in an attempt to make more accurate and individualised classifications.

Temporal trends in mortality and provision of intensive care in younger women and men with acute myocardial infarction or stroke

BACKGROUND

Timely management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and acute stroke has undergone impressive progress during the last decade. However, it is currently unknown whether both sexes have profited equally from improved strategies. We sought to analyze sex-specific temporal trends in intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality in younger patients presenting with AMI or stroke in Switzerland.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of temporal trends in 16,954 younger patients aged 18 to ≤ 52 years with AMI or acute stroke admitted to Swiss ICUs between 01/2008 and 12/2019.

RESULTS

Over a period of 12 years, ICU admissions for AMI decreased more in women than in men (- 6.4% in women versus - 4.5% in men, p < 0.001), while ICU mortality for AMI significantly increased in women (OR 1.2 [1.10-1.30], p = 0.032), but remained unchanged in men (OR 0.99 [0.94-1.03], p = 0.71). In stroke patients, ICU admission rates increased between 3.6 and 4.1% per year in both sexes, while ICU mortality tended to decrease only in women (OR 0.91 [0.85-0.95, p = 0.057], but remained essentially unaltered in men (OR 0.99 [0.94-1.03], p = 0.75). Interventions aimed at restoring tissue perfusion were more often performed in men with AMI, while no sex difference was noted in neurovascular interventions.

CONCLUSION

Sex and gender disparities in disease management and outcomes persist in the era of modern interventional neurology and cardiology with opposite trends observed in younger stroke and AMI patients admitted to intensive care. Although our study has several limitations, our data suggest that management and selection criteria for ICU admission, particularly in younger women with AMI, should be carefully reassessed.

Women with HIV transitioning through menopause: Insights from the Swiss HIV Cohort Study (SHCS)

Objectives

We aimed to assess prevalence and age at menopause, identify factors associated with early menopause and explore the provision and utilization of healthcare in women living with HIV in Switzerland.

Methods

This was a retrospective Swiss HIV Cohort Study analysis from January 2010 to December 2018. Descriptive statistics to characterise the population and menopause onset. Logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors for early menopause.

Results

Of all women in the SHCS, the proportion of postmenopausal women tripled from 11.5% (n = 274) in 2010 to 36.1% (n = 961) in 2018. The median age at menopause was 50 years. Early menopause (< 45 years) occurred in 115 (10.2%) women and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) (< 40 years) in 23 (2%) women. Early menopause was associated with black ethnicity (52.2% vs. 21.6%, p < 0.001), but not with HIV acquisition mode, CDC stage, viral suppression, CD4 cell count, hepatitis C, smoking or active drug use. While 92% of the postmenopausal women underwent a gynaecological examination during the 36 months before menopause documentation, only 27% received a bone mineral density measurement within 36 months after the last bleed and 11% were on hormone replacement therapy at the time of menopause documentation.

Conclusions

The median age of women living with HIV at menopause is around 2 years lower than that reported for HIV‐negative women in Switzerland. HIV care providers need to adapt their services to the requirements of the increasing number of women living with HIV transitioning through menopause. They should be able to recognize menopause‐associated symptoms and improve access to bone mineral density measurement as well as hormone replacement therapy.

The role of extreme temperature in cause-specific acute cardiovascular mortality in Switzerland: A case-crossover study

Since the 2003 heatwave in Europe, evidence has been rapidly increasing on the association between extreme temperature and all-cause mortality. Little is known, however, about cause-specific cardiovascular mortality, effect modification by air pollution and aircraft noise, and which population groups are the most vulnerable to extreme temperature. We conducted a time-stratified case-crossover study in Zurich, Switzerland, including all adult cardiovascular deaths between 2000 and 2015 with precise individual exposure estimates at home location. We estimated the risk of 24,884 cardiovascular deaths associated with heat and cold using distributed non-linear lag models. We investigated potential effect modification of temperature-related mortality by fine particles, nitrogen dioxide, and night-time aircraft noise and performed stratified analyses across individual and social characteristics. We found increased risk of mortality for heat (odds ratio OR = 1.28 [95% confidence interval: 1.11-1.49] for 99th percentile of daily Tmean (24 °C) versus optimum temperature at 20 °C) and cold (OR = 1.15 [0.95-1.39], 5th percentile of daily Tmean (-3 °C) versus optimum temperature at 20 °C). Heat-related mortality was particularly strong for myocardial infarctions and hypertension related deaths, and among older women (>75 years). Analysis of effect modification also indicated that older women with lower socio-economic position and education are at higher risk for heat-related mortality. PM_2.5 increased the risk of heat-related mortality for heart failure, but not all-cause cardiovascular mortality. This study provides useful information for preventing cause-specific cardiovascular temperature-related mortality in moderate climate zones comparable to Switzerland.

Association of adult lung function with accelerated biological aging

Lung function, strongly associated with morbidity and mortality, decreases with age. This study examines whether poor adult lung function is associated with age accelerations (AAs). DNA methylation (DNAm) based AAs, lifespan predictors (GrimAge and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1-PAI1) and their related age-adjusted measures were estimated from peripheral blood at two time points (8-to-11 years apart) in adults from two cohorts: SAPALDIA (n=987) and ECRHS (n=509). Within each cohort and stratified by gender (except for estimators from GrimAge and PAI1), AAs were used as predictors in multivariate linear regression with cross-sectional lung function parameters, and in covariate-adjusted mixed linear regression with longitudinal change in lung function and meta-analysed.

AAs were found cross-sectionally associated with lower mean FEV1 (Forced Expiratory Volume in one second) (AA-residuals:P-value=4x10^-4; Intrinsic Epigenetic AA:P-value=2x10^-4) in females at the follow-up time point only, and the same trend was observed for FVC (Forced Vital Capacity). Both lifespan and plasma level predictors were observed strongly associated with lung function decline and the decline was stronger in the follow-up time points (strongest association between FEV1 and DNAmAge GrimAge:P-value=1.25x10^-17).

This study suggests that DNAm based lifespan and plasma level predictors can be utilised as important factors to assess lung health in adults.

Social Determinants of Health in Menopause: An Integrative Review

Menopause is one of the most important reproductive health issues of women. Because of rising life expectancy, by the year 2030, the global population of menopausal women is expected to include 1.2 billion people. The purpose of the present study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of existing studies on the relationship between social determinants of health and menopause to attract the attention of researchers and health providers to this critical issue. In present integrative review, articles for menopause published from Jan 1990 to Jan 2019 in databases including MEDLINE, ISI Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Google Scholar, IranDoc, IranMedex, MagIran and SID in English and Persian languages were extracted. After the assessment of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 40 articles were selected and reviewed. Some social determinants of health are related to the health of women in menopause. Cultural factors, lifestyles (nutrition, exercise, tobacco use, etc.), family support, educational level, employment, economic status, marital status, and the number of pregnancies and childbirth are among the social determinants of health that present research assessed them. The need for education, improving emotional and social support, planning for lifestyle enhancement, and improving socio-economic status is felt, which results in promoting women’s health during menopause.

Physical activity is not related to risk of early menopause in a large prospective study

STUDY QUESTION

Is physical activity associated with incident early menopause?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Physical activity is not associated with incident early menopause.

WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY

Lifestyle factors such as physical activity may influence menopause timing, but results from prior research are inconsistent.

STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION

We evaluated the association between physical activity and the occurrence of early natural menopause in a prospective cohort study, the Nurses' Health Study II. Women were followed prospectively from 1989 to 2011.

PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS

Our analysis included 107 275 women who were premenopausal at baseline. Menopause status was self-reported biennially. Time per week participating in specific activities was reported approximately every 4 years and used to calculate metabolic task hours per week (MET h/week). We used Cox proportional hazards model to evaluate the association between physical activity and incidence of natural menopause before age 45 years while controlling for potential confounding factors.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

There were 2 786 study members who experienced menopause before the age of 45. After adjustment for age, smoking and other factors, we observed no association between adulthood physical activity and early menopause. For example, compared to women reporting <3 MET h/week, the hazard ratio for women in the highest category (≥42 MET h/week) of cumulatively-averaged total physical activity was 0.89 (95% confidence interval: 0.76-1.04; P-trend: 0.26). Neither moderate nor strenuous activity in adolescence and young adulthood were related to risk. The relation of physical activity and early menopause did not vary across strata of body mass index or smoking status.

LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION

Physical activity and menopausal status were self-reported, but repeated assessment of physical activity and prospective report of menopause status likely reduce the potential for non-differential misclassification. While the majority of our study participants were white, it is unlikely that the physiological relation of activity and early menopause varies by ethnicity.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

Findings from our large prospective study do not support an important association between physical activity and early menopause.

STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)

This project was supported by UM1CA176726 and R01HD078517 from the National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. No competing interests are declared.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

N/A.

Early menarche and new onset of asthma: Results from the SAPALDIA cohort study

RATIONALE

The association between early menarche and new onset of asthma warrants further investigation in those aged >30 years.

OBJECTIVES

Using data from the Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung and Heart Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), we investigated whether early menarche was associated with new onset of asthma in women aged 18-60 years at baseline.

METHODS

Our analysis included 2492 women with information on age at menarche and doctor-diagnosed asthma, who had been asthma free at the time of menarche and had complete covariate information. New onset of asthma was defined as newly reported doctor-diagnosed asthma which occurred at least one year after menarche. Asthma incidence and its association with early menarche was analysed using logistic regression, adjusting for age, atopy, smoking, BMI, parental asthma, urbanity, education and study area, and additionally stratifying by atopy and BMI.

RESULTS

After adjustment of relevant confounders, women with early menarche did not have a significantly higher risk of onset of asthma than women without early menarche (OR 1.23, 95% CI 0.85-1.80). Young atopic women with early menarche appeared to have an increased risk of asthma compared with non-atopic women (OR 2.21, 95% CI 0.90-5.43); however, our results did not reach statistical significance.

CONCLUSION

We could not substantiate an association of early menarche with new onset of asthma in this Swiss population-based cohort aged 18-60 years at baseline. Future studies may need to prospectively assess age of menarche to investigate the association with new onset of asthma in those aged >30 years.

What does the mean menarcheal age mean?-An analysis of temporal pattern in variability in a historical swiss population from the 19th and 20th centuries

OBJECTIVES

Age at menarche is one of the most important factors when observing growth and development. The aim of this study was to assess the temporal pattern in variability of menarcheal age for a historic Swiss population from the 19th and 20th centuries.

METHODS

Medical health records from the Bernese women's hospital (Switzerland) were analyzed. From 10,081 women of a historical Swiss population (born from 1815 to 1954), menarcheal age was calculated. A possible decline in average menarcheal age and variance and skewness were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics, generalized additive models, and correlation.

RESULTS

Mean menarcheal age declined from 17.34 years (n = 358) around 1830 to 13.80 years (n = 141) around 1950. Within-cohort variance decreased from 7.5 to 2.1 year(2) . Skewness was negatively correlated with birth year (r = -0.58).

CONCLUSION

This study provided evidence for a secular trend in various statistical parameters for age at menarche since the 19th century. Furthermore, the results of the analysis of temporal pattern in variability revealed that the secular trend in menarcheal age happened in two phases. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 28:705-713, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Genetics of recessive cognitive disorders

Most severe forms of intellectual disability (ID) have specific genetic causes. Numerous X chromosome gene defects and disease-causing copy-number variants have been linked to ID and related disorders, and recent studies have revealed that sporadic cases are often due to dominant de novo mutations with low recurrence risk. For autosomal recessive ID (ARID) the recurrence risk is high and, in populations with frequent parental consanguinity, ARID is the most common form of ID. Even so, its elucidation has lagged behind. Here we review recent progress in this field, show that ARID is not rare even in outbred Western populations, and discuss the prospects for improving its diagnosis and prevention.

Reproductive cancer risk factors among Alaska Native women: the Alaska Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) Study

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to provide estimates for the prevalence of reproductive cancer risk factors among Alaska Native (AN) women who enrolled in the Alaska Education and Research Towards Health (EARTH) Study from 2004 to 2006.

METHODS

A total of 2,315 AN women 18 years or older completed reproductive health questions as part of a comprehensive health history questionnaire. The reproductive health section included menstrual status (age at menarche and menopause), pregnancy and live birth history, use of hormonal contraception, hormone replacement therapy, and history of hysterectomy and/or oophorectomy.

RESULTS

A total of 463 (20%) of women experienced menarche before age 12 with a decline in mean age at menarche by age cohort. More than 86% had been pregnant (mean number of pregnancies, 3.8; mean number of live births, 2.9). More than one half of women (58%) had their first live birth between the ages of 18 and 24. Almost 28% of participants had completed menopause, of whom 24% completed menopause after age 52. Fewer than half (43%) reported ever using hormone replacement therapy. Almost two thirds (62%) reported ever using oral contraceptives, and fewer reported ever using birth control shots (30%) or implants (10%).

CONCLUSIONS

This study is unique in reporting reproductive health factors among a large group of AN women. These data show that AN women have selective protective factors for reproductive cancers, including low nulliparity rates, low use of menopausal estrogens, and common use of contraceptive hormones. However, analysis by age cohorts indicates decreasing age at menarche that might increase the risk for reproductive cancers among AN women in the future.

Factors associated with premature ovarian failure, early menopause and earlier onset of menopause in Japanese women

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study is to clarify the median age at natural menopause and the proportions of women with premature ovarian failure (POF) and early menopause (EM) by using Kaplan-Meier cumulative estimates and differences in reproductive and lifestyle factors associated with POF, EM and median age at menopause in a large population of Japanese women.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

This study is a cross-sectional analysis of the Japan Nurses' Health Study (JNHS). We analyzed data for 24,152 pre- and postmenopausal women who were 40 years or older at the JNHS baseline survey.

RESULTS

The overall estimated median age at natural menopause was 52.1 years, and the proportions of women with POF and EM were 0.28% and 1.67%, respectively. Older generation, cigarette smoking, low body mass index, regular menstruation cycles at 18-22 years of age, nulliparity and unilateral oophorectomy were associated with earlier onset of natural menopause. Only unilateral oophorectomy was associated with increased risk of POF, and nulliparity and unilateral oophorectomy were associated with increased risk of EM.

CONCLUSION

Unilateral oophorectomy is a common factor associated with earlier onset of menopause, EM and POF, although other reproductive and lifestyle factors are not associated with POF or EM.

Secular trend in the menopausal age in Finland 1997-2007 and correlation with socioeconomic, reproductive and lifestyle factors

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Only few studies have studied secular trend of menopausal age during last decade. The aim of our study is to analyze secular trend of menopausal age and to evaluate the role of socioeconomic, reproductive and lifestyle factors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

National FINRISK Study sample from years 1997 and 2007 was utilized. The sample size for 1997 was 4193 and during 2007 was 4253 women. Covariance analysis included menopausal age as dependent variable and covariates (age, study year, education, occupation, parity, age at first birth, smoking, use of alcohol, physical activity, body mass index, waist circumference and waist-hip ratio) as independent variables.

RESULTS

Median of menopausal age was 50 years in 1997 and 51 years in 2007. Differences in menopausal age by covariate were largest in smoking, education and occupation. Difference in mean menopausal age between smokers and non-smokers was larger in 2007 than in 1997 (p<0.001). Lowest educated women had lower average menopausal age during 2007 than higher educated women (p<0.001), but not in 1997. When including sociodemographic, reproductive and lifestyle factors in a model, smoking was significantly related to earlier and physical activity to later menopausal age. Study year was not significant in any model.

CONCLUSION

Education, smoking and physical activity have an important role in menopausal age determination when comparing 10-year differences in menopausal age.

Breast cancer classification according to immunohistochemical markers: clinicopathologic features and short-term survival analysis in a population-based study from the South of Switzerland

BACKGROUND

Breast cancer may be classified into distinct molecular subtypes based on gene expression profiling and/or immunophenotypic characteristics. Aim of the study was to investigate prevalence, clinicopathologic features and overall survival (OS) of molecular subtypes, in a large European population-based study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

All invasive breast cancers from 2003 to 2007 were selected from the files of Ticino Cancer Registry. Molecular subtypes were defined by immunohistochemical markers. Clinicopathological characteristics and short-term OS were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 1214 invasive breast cancers, 73.2% were luminal A subtype, 13.8% luminal B, 7.4% basal like and 5.6% Her2/neu. Basal like presented largely in premenopausal women and displayed aggressive features, such as large tumor size, poorly differentiated cancers, high Ki-67 proliferation index and the worst 24-month OS. Luminal A included the highest percentage of patients >70, the highest proportion of stage I tumors and well/moderately differentiated lesions. Her2/neu was more frequent in postmenopausal women and showed the highest percentage of positive lymph nodes and stage IV cases.

CONCLUSION

This is a comprehensive European population-based study on breast cancer molecular subtypes. We provide strong evidence that the molecular classification is useful for clinical management and superior to World Health Organization classification in terms of short-term prognostic value.