Women with early or normal onset menopause are at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) than those with late onset menopause, concludes new research published in Diabetologia.

Previous research has shown that women with early onset of menopause (age below 45 years) have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality, whereas an onset of menopause at age 50–54 years is linked to a reduced risk of CVD and mortality. While the increased risk is thought to be due to the adverse effects of menopause on CVD risk factors, the influence of age at menopause on these risk factors remains uncertain.

The authors explain: "Our findings might suggest that the risk of diabetes related to menopause is already there before menopause begins. This could explain why other risk factors for diabetes do not explain the link between menopause and T2D – early menopause is an independent marker for T2D, indicating that something else is the driving force behind this observation, possibly defective DNA repair and maintenance."