Table 1. Characteristics of US Women Aged 40 to 74 Years Who Reported Having Natural Menopause, 1959-2018a.
| Characteristics | 1959-1962 | 1971-1975 | 1988-1994 | 1999-2002 | 2003-2006 | 2007-2010 | 2011-2014 | 2015-2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unweighted No. | 708 | 1271 | 1349 | 730 | 717 | 1065 | 960 | 973 |
| Age, y | ||||||||
| 40-49 | 24.1 (20.3-27.9) | 21.4 (18.4-24.4) | 13.4 (10.8-16.0) | 23.9 (18.5-29.3) | 21.0 (17.1-24.9) | 18.4 (15.4-21.5) | 15.3 (12.4-18.1) | 15.5 (12.1-19.0) |
| 50-64 | 42.0 (38.7-45.3) | 45.6 (41.3-49.9) | 45.6 (42.2-49.0) | 37.9 (33.2-42.6) | 44.1 (40.8-47.3) | 48.5 (44.3-52.8) | 52.6 (48.3-56.8) | 47.9 (43.4-52.3) |
| ≥65 | 33.9 (29.9-37.9) | 33.0 (28.9-37.0) | 40.9 (37.4-44.5) | 38.2 (34.1-42.3) | 34.9 (31.7-38.1) | 33.0 (28.9-37.2) | 32.1 (28.2-36.1) | 36.6 (32.9-40.3) |
| Race/ethnicityb | ||||||||
| White | 92.5 (89.9-95.2) | 89.2 (86.5-92.0) | 82.7 (78.6-86.7) | 77.8 (72.5-83.1) | 82.7 (77.9-87.6) | 79.6 (74.8-84.3) | 78.4 (73.3-83.5) | 77.5 (72.8-82.3) |
| Black | 7.5 (4.8-10.1) | 9.3 (6.9-11.8) | 8.7 (6.4-11.0) | 9.0 (6.0-12.0) | 8.4 (5.5-11.4) | 10.4 (7.8-13.0) | 9.8 (7.0-12.5) | 9.8 (7.0-12.7) |
| Hispanic | 1.4 (0.2-2.7) | 8.6 (5.4-11.7) | 13.2 (8.2-18.1) | 8.9 (5.7-12.0) | 10.1 (6.4-13.8) | 11.8 (8.3-15.3) | 12.6 (9.3-16.0) | |
| Non–US born | 7.6 (5.6-9.6) | 13.6 (10.0-17.3) | 13.5 (9.3-17.7) | 9.7 (6.7-12.8) | 11.6 (7.8-15.5) | 12.5 (9.6-15.3) | 14.2 (10.5-17.9) | |
| Greater than a high-school education | 15.4 (10.8-20.0) | 18.4 (15.5-21.4) | 29.8 (25.7-34.0) | 48.9 (44.0-53.8) | 57.1 (51.7-62.6) | 59.0 (54.0-64.0) | 63.7 (57.2-70.2) | 64.3 (59.7-68.8) |
| Poverty (poverty income ratio <1.3)c | 28.9 (23.4-34.3) | 24.5 (20.9-28.1) | 24.4 (20.6-28.2) | 28.7 (23.6-33.9) | 19.8 (15.5-24.0) | 21.2 (18.1-24.3) | 25.2 (21.0-29.3) | 23.3 (18.2-28.4) |
| Current smoking status | 14.8 (12.3-17.4) | 20.9 (18.2-23.6) | 19.7 (15.9-23.6) | 18.2 (14.2-22.2) | 14.5 (12.0-17.0) | 14.9 (10.7-19.1) | 13.6 (11.0-16.3) | |
| Ever use of oral contraceptives | 3.2 (1.3-5.1) | 32.0 (28.5-35.4) | 63.1 (58.1-68.2) | 70.6 (66.0-75.2) | 77.5 (74.6-80.5) | 77.5 (73.9-81.2) | 81.9 (78.6-85.3) | |
| Ever use of hormone therapy | 22.7 (18.6-26.9) | 31.5 (27.5-35.40) | 45.0 (40.1-49.9) | 47.0 (42.8-51.2) | 37.2 (32.7-41.6) | 33.0 (28.8-37.2) | 26.6 (21.5-31.6) | |
| Hypertension | 78.4 (74.3-82.6) | 73.5 (69.8-77.1) | 63.0 (59.1-67.0) | 66.8 (62.0-71.7) | 67.2 (62.0-72.3) | 64.5 (60.7-68.2) | 65.0 (60.9-69.1) | 61.7 (57.4-66.0) |
| BMI, mean (SD) | 27.0 (5.3) | 26.5 (5.4) | 27.6 (6.1) | 28.9 (6.2) | 29.5 (7.5) | 29.5 (7.2) | 29.9 (7.5) | 30.0 (7.4) |
| General obesityd | 26.0 (22.1-30.0) | 22.7 (20.2-25.3) | 29.9 (26.6-33.3) | 38.6 (34.3-42.9) | 38.1 (34.4-41.8) | 41.6 (37.1-46.1) | 42.4 (36.8-47.9) | 45.0 (39.2-50.8) |
| Waist circumference, mean (SD), cm | 82.2 (12.1) | 91.2 (12.1) | 94.3 (14.1) | 96.3 (15.0) | 97.5 (16.5) | 98.9 (15.7) | 99.9 (15.7) | 100.3 (16.1) |
| Abdominal obesitye | 28.0 (24.3-31.7) | 54.3 (50.9-57.7) | 64.6 (61.0-68.2) | 67.9 (63.9-71.8) | 69.8 (66.6-73.0) | 73.2 (69.3-77.2) | 74.7 (71.0-78.4) | 75.6 (70.3-80.8) |
| Self-reported diabetes | 4.0 (2.6-5.4) | 5.9 (3.9-7.9) | 8.6 (6.6-10.6) | 9.3 (6.8-11.9) | 14.0 (11.5-16.5) | 13.6 (10.4-16.8) | 14.3 (11.7-16.8) | 14.9 (11.5-18.4) |
| Early menopausef | 16.7 (13.9-19.50) | 12.7 (10.2-15.2) | 15.0 (12.1-17.9) | 11.4 (8.0-14.7) | 10.8 (8.5-13.2) | 11.9 (9.3-14.5) | 12.0 (9.2-14.8) | 11.8 (8.6-15.1) |
| Age at menarche, y | ||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 13.5 (1.6) | 13.4 (1.6) | 12.9 (1.6) | 12.8 (1.7) | 12.7 (1.6) | 12.8 (1.6) | 12.8 (1.7) | 12.7 (1.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 12.8 (11.9-13.9) | 12.8 (11.8-13.8) | 12.3 (11.3-13.3) | 12.2 (11.2-13.1) | 12.1 (11.1-12.9) | 12.2 (11.2-13.3) | 12.2 (11.2-13.2) | 12.1 (11.1-13.3) |
| Age at menopause, y | ||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 48.4 (4.0) | 49.1 (4.0) | 49.2 (4.4) | 49.4 (4.2) | 49.9 (4.3) | 49.9 (4.4) | 49.9 (4.4) | 49.9 (4.5) |
| Median (IQR) | 48.5 (44.8-50.8) | 49.2 (46.0-51.3) | 49.3 (45.5-51.8) | 49.2 (46.1-51.4) | 49.4 (46.5-52.5) | 49.6 (46.6-52.4) | 49.6 (46.7-52.5) | 49.6 (46.4-52.5) |
| Reproductive life span, y | ||||||||
| Mean (SD) | 35.0 (4.2) | 35.7 (4.2) | 36.3 (4.8) | 36.6 (4.5) | 37.2 (4.5) | 37.1 (4.5) | 37.2 (4.8) | 37.1 (4.7) |
| Median (IQR) | 34.7 (31.6-37.5) | 35.8 (32.5-38.1) | 36.2 (32.6-39.3) | 36.6 (33.1-38.8) | 36.7 (33.9-39.8) | 36.9 (33.5-39.6) | 37.1 (33.8-39.9) | 37.0 (33.5-39.8) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared); IQR, interquartile range.
Of 9428 women aged 40-74 years at the time of the survey with natural menopause and without missing age at menopause, 1655 were excluded because of menopause due to medical treatment or other reasons (n = 477), age at natural menopause before age 40 years or after age 62 years (n = 672), or race/ethnicity other than Black, White, or Hispanic (n = 506), resulting in an analytic sample of 7773 women. Data are survey-weighted and are reported as % (95% CI) unless otherwise specified. No data are given for information not collected in 1959-1962.
Race/ethnicity was self-reported by all participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey; for the National Health Examination Survey I (1959-1962), it was determined by interviewer observation and confirmed when possible by birth certificate.
Ratio of family income to the poverty threshold defined by the US Census Bureau appropriate to the family’s composition. The poverty threshold of less than 1.3 corresponds to a family income that is 130% of the poverty level for that survey year (eg, in 2008, a poverty income ratio of 130% was equivalent to approximately $29 000 for a family of 4).
Defined as BMI ≥30.
Defined as waist circumference >88 cm.
Defined as age at natural menopause between 40 and 45 years.