RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate vitamin D status in women with the onset of the climacteric phase by age 46 as both early menopause and inadequate vitamin D status may increase the risk of adverse health outcomes. METHODS: A cross-sectional study included 2,544, 46-year-old women from a birth cohort. Women were divided into the following two groups according to their menstrual history and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentration: 1) climacteric (FSH ≥25âIU/L and amenorrhea ≥4âmo, nâ=â351) and 2) preclimacteric women (FSH <25âIU/L and having regular/irregular menstrual cycles, nâ=â2,193). Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentrations were compared between the groups. A linear regression model was performed to investigate which factors are associated with 25(OH)D status. RESULTS: Mean serum 25(OH)D concentrations were higher in climacteric compared with preclimacteric women (68.1â±â19.8ânmol/L vs 65.2â±â19.3ânmol/L, Pâ=â0.01). However, in the linear regression model, climacteric status was not associated with 25(OH)D status (multivariable adjusted mean difference 4.5ânmol/L, 95% confidence interval -1.4 to 10.4, Pâ=â0.137). A total of 76 of the climacteric women were using systemic estrogen hormone therapy (HT). In a subanalysis, including only climacteric women, the use of HT was associated with higher 25(OH)D status (multivariable adjusted mean difference 5.9ânmol/L, 95% confidence interval 1.3-10.5, Pâ=â0.013). CONCLUSIONS: The onset of the climacteric phase by age 46 was not associated with inadequate 25(OH)D concentrations, whereas HT use was associated with higher 25(OH)D status in women with early-onset climacterium.