Menopause experience differs by ethnic group.(GYNECOLOGY)

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. -- Menopause symptoms vary significantly by ethnic group, based on data emerging from a longitudinal study.

The acculturation of women immigrants to the United States, as well as their socioeconomic status, are two factors that might account for these differences, said Dr. Nanette F. Santoro, an endocrinologist who has coauthored multiple studies based on data from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN).

The study included women from seven sites: Boston; Newark, N.J.; Pittsburgh; Detroit; Chicago; Oakland, Calif.; and Los Angeles. Each site recruited white women and women from one ethnic minority group: black, Hispanic, Chinese, or Japanese. More than 10 years later, about 85% of the participants remain in the study.

"We found differences by ethnicity--very intriguing differences," Dr. Santoro said.

For example, in one study of 11,652 women from SWAN, Dr. Santoro and her colleagues found that 126 participants (1.1%) reported onset of menopause before age 40 years, a condition known as premature ovarian failure (Human Reprod. 2003;18:199-206). This occurred in 1.4% of both black and Hispanic women, 1.0% of white women, 0.5% of Chinese women, and 0.1% of Japanese women. (See bar chart.)

These differences were deemed statistically significant.

Acculturation of immigrants is "a double-edged sword," Dr. Santoro said at the annual meeting of the North American Menopause Society. It can improve socioeconomic status, access to health care, and attainment of higher education, but at the same time can worsen health through a less-nutritious diet.