Infertility and Early Menopause Linked to Smoking; Directly or Indirectly!

Infertility and Early Menopause Linked to Smoking; Directly or Indirectly!

It doesn’t used to bother us perceiving the smell of cigarettes or that other one from colleagues, spouse, neighbors etc. However, latest report says mere perceiving the smell causes problems of infertility and early menopause for women; same risk with the real smoker! According to a recent study, highest levels of tobacco exposure has been associated with hastening of menopause by 1-2 years. According to Tobacco Section of BMJ, ‘active and passive smoking are linked to infertility problems and a hastening of the natural menopause before the age of 50’. As reported, the findings were based on ‘information obtained on lifetime smoking habits, fertility problems, and age at natural menopause provided by more than 93,000 women taking part in the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study (WHI OS). All the women had gone through the menopause, and were aged between 50 and 79 when they were recruited to the study between 1993 and 1998, at 40 different centres across the USA’ they reported




A total number of 93,676 women’s data were used for the research using various parameters such as tobacco exposure and fertility, including that of the partners, where 88,732 women were available in that regard. 79,690 of the total sample of 93,676 had had a natural menopause, defined as not having had surgery to remove their ovaries and an absence of periods for 12 consecutive months. All necessary detailed information were asked from smokers, ex-smokers and passive smokers ditto to their adolescents, workplace, family background etc. before the results of their findings were published . It was discovered that 15.4% of the women for whom fertility data were available (13, 621 of 88,732), reported problems trying to conceive. And almost half (45%; 35,834) of the women included in the analysis looking at natural menopause said they had gone through their menopause before the age of 50. Analysis of the data showed that tobacco exposure was associated with an increased risk of infertility and earlier menopause’ as reported.’ Compared with never smokers, current or former smoking was associated with a 14% greater risk of infertility and a 26% heightened risk of menopause before the age of 50’, said BMJ.


The findings were agreed to be true even by BMJ after taking account of several influential factors, including body mass index (BMI) at the age of 18, educational attainment, alcohol consumption, exercise levels, insecticide exposure, oral contraceptive use, and age at first period.’ The clinical significance of earlier menopause is not clear’, say the researchers, but other studies have linked earlier menopause to a heightened risk of death from any cause said BMJ. This made BMJ concludes that ‘this is an observational study so no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect, but their findings back those of other smaller studies, they said. While the researchers concluded that ‘active smoking and SHS exposure are associated with increased risk of infertility and natural menopause occurring before the age of 50 years. They further say that the toxins found in tobacco smoke are known to have various deleterious effects on many aspects of reproduction and also known to disrupt hormone production and activity.

 

 

 

Article by Tobacco Control of BMJ : ‘Active and passive smoking linked to infertility and earlier menopause’

Research by Andrew Hyland,Etal: Associations between lifetime tobacco exposure with infertility and age at natural menopause: the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study

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