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Having less sex is related to earlier menopause, according to study

2020-01-15T10:53:21.853Z


Researchers found that women who reported having sexual activity weekly were 28% less likely to have experienced menopause than those who had re ...


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Factors affecting the symptoms of menopause 1:00

(CNN) - Having sex less frequently could lead to earlier menopause, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that women who reported having sexual activity weekly were 28% less likely to have experienced menopause than those who had sex less than once a month.

READ: 5 things you should know about menopause

Similarly, people who had monthly sex were 19% less likely to have reached menopause, defined as 12 months without a period, than those who had sex less than once a month.

Although the study did not analyze the reason for the link, the authors said that the physical signs of sex can indicate to the body that there is a possibility of becoming pregnant. But for women who do not have sexual intercourse frequently in middle age, early menopause may make more biological sense.

"If you are not going to reproduce, it makes no sense to ovulate, it is better that you use that energy elsewhere," said Megan Arnot, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in evolutionary anthropology at University College London.

During ovulation, a woman is more susceptible to disease because the immune system is impaired, Arnot said. If pregnancy is unlikely due to lack of sexual activity, that means that it would not be beneficial for the body to allocate energy to the ovulation process.

Instead, he said, the findings support the "Grandmother's Hypothesis," a theory that suggests that menopause originally evolved in humans to reduce the "reproductive conflict" between different generations of women and ensure that their grandchildren survive and thrive.

"There may be a biological energy compensation between investing energy in ovulation and investing elsewhere, such as staying active taking care of grandchildren," said Arnot.

The research is based on the US Women's Health Study. UU., A unique look at the health of middle-aged women that began in 1996. The almost 3,000 women in the data set were an average age of 45 when the study began, they had two children, on average, and They were mostly married or in a relationship or living with their partner. About 45% of women experienced a natural menopause at the age of 52. The interviews were conducted over a period of 10 years.

At the beginning of the study, none of the women had entered menopause, but 46% were in early perimenopause (beginning to experience menopausal symptoms such as irregular periods and hot flashes) and 54% were premenopausal (with regular cycles and without show symptoms of perimenopause or menopause).

In their analysis, the researchers ruled out factors that could have explained the association, including estrogen levels, education, body mass index (BMI), race, smoking habits and when a woman began her period for the first time. .

Sexual activity was not only defined as intercourse. It also included oral sex, self-stimulation and sexual caresses, Arnot said.

Arnot also said his study tested whether living with a male partner affected menopause; An existing theory was that greater exposure to male pheromones as a result of living with a man delayed menopause. However, they found no correlation if a male partner was present in the home or not.

It is the first time a study shows a link between the frequency of having sex and the onset of menopause, Arnot said.

The next step is to try to replicate the findings in other population groups, although he said there was little data available on sex and menopause.

For women seeking to delay the onset of symptoms such as hot flashes that can cause discomfort in the years around menopause, Arnot said that more sex probably could not harm but that the study did not examine this problem.

"The mechanism of the relationship between sex and menopause is a promising avenue for future research and could open the door to behavioral interventions," said Arnot.

menopause

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2020-01-15

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