The Association Between Diabetes (Type 1, Type 2 and Gestational Diabetes) and Age at Natural Menopause: Results from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA)

Over the past few years, the prevalence of diabetes has steadily increased across the globe. With growing incidence of youth onset diabetes more women are expected to spend a larger proportion of their reproductive years with diabetes. It is important to understand the long-term implications of premenopausal diabetes on womens reproductive health including their age at natural menopause (ANM). The present thesis aims to use a large cohort of females to investigate the association between pre-menopausal type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes and gestational diabetes, and ANM. Baseline data from the Comprehensive Cohort of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging was used for this analysis. Females who reported having premenopausal diagnosis of diabetes were considered exposed. Kaplan-Meier cumulative survivorship estimates and multivariable Cox regression models were used to assess the association between different types of diabetes and ANM. Various socio-demographic, lifestyle and premenopausal clinical factors were adjusted in the final model as covariates