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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1442991

Association of age at menopause and suicide risk in postmenopausal women: A nationwide cohort study

Provisionally accepted
Daa Un Moon Daa Un Moon 1Hyewon Kim Hyewon Kim 2JinHyung Jung JinHyung Jung 3Kyungdo Han Kyungdo Han 4*Hong Jin Jeon Hong Jin Jeon 3*
  • 1 Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
  • 2 Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea
  • 3 Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
  • 4 Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    1 Abstract Introduction. Early age at menopause has been linked to various adverse health outcomes, but its association with suicide risk remains underexplored. This study aims to assess the relationship between age at menopause and suicide risk among postmenopausal women. Methods. This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from the Korean National Health Insurance System (NHIS), covering 1,315,795 postmenopausal women aged 30 years and above, from 2009 to 2021. Menopausal age was classified as primary ovarian insufficiency (under 40 years), early menopause (40-44 years), average menopause (45-49 and 50-54 years), and late menopause (55 years and older). Suicide incidence was identified using ICD-10 codes for primary cause of death. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were utilized to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. Across the 12-year follow-up, there were 2,986 suicides. Women with primary ovarian insufficiency exhibited the highest suicide risk (HR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.14–1.78, p < 0.001), followed by those with early menopause (HR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.15–1.50, p < 0.001), and those with menopause between 45 and 49 (HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.04–1.23, p < 0.001) compared to the reference group undergoing menopause at age of 50-54. Discussion. Early onset of menopause, particularly primary ovarian insufficiency, is associated with a significantly elevated risk of suicide. These findings underscore the need for targeted interventions and support for women experiencing early menopause. This study highlights the importance of monitoring mental health in postmenopausal women and suggests further research to explore the underlying mechanisms linking early menopause to increased suicide risk.

    Keywords: Age at menopause, Suicide, Primary Ovarian Insufficiency, Early menopause, postmenopausal women

    Received: 03 Jun 2024; Accepted: 25 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Moon, Kim, Jung, Han and Jeon. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Kyungdo Han, Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Soongsil University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
    Hong Jin Jeon, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, 06351, Republic of Korea

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