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8 June 2005
Season Of Birth Influences Onset Of Menopause 
Italian researchers, writing in the journal Human Reproduction, say that the season in which a woman is born, influences the age at which she reaches menopause. The findings were based on a study of nearly 3,000 post-menopausal women. The earliest age of menopause onset was found in women born in March and the latest among those born in October. On average there was around 15 months difference, with women born in October reaching menopause at over 50 years compared with under 49 years for women born in March. Dr Angelo Cagnacci, the lead author of the study, said that the findings reinforced the concept that prenatal environmental factors affected a baby's adult life. "Mothers should be aware of this, considering that during pregnancy they are going to influence, not only the health of the newborn, but also the health and reproductive life of their child during adulthood." He conceded that there were some limitations to the study as it involved women referred to menopause centers rather than the general population and the effect of seasonal conditions may vary in different geographic areas. "Nevertheless, the data seem to suggest notable effects of the month/season of birth on the length of a woman's fertile life, further supporting a role for environmental factors in regulating adult reproductive life and the timing of its termination," he said. The study was carried out at university hospitals in Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Parma and involved over 2,800 women. It found that the average age of menopause onset was 49.22 for spring-born women and 49.97 for autumn-born women. It was not known which seasonal environmental factors were capable of influencing the onset. The study speculated that modifications of environmental temperature and sunlight may influence fetal growth and therefore future reproductive capabilities. Seasonally linked diet modifications or exposure to infections were other possibilities. "Our present data seem to indicate that women born in autumn are born with a higher number of oocytes (eggs) than women born in spring," said Dr Cagnacci. He said the researchers' view was that a prolonged reproductive period with a later menopause was an index of higher embryo quality and ultimately, their quality was passed on to their offspring. Dr Cagnacci said the next phase of the research was seeing whether the season of birth could influence other conditions such as anxiety and depression.
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