Factors that discriminate age at menopause: A study of Bengali Hindu women of West Bengal

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the factors that discriminate different menopausal age groups. MethodsWe selected 715 postmenopausal Bengali-speaking Hindu women from the State of West Bengal, India, who were married and had at least one child. We divided the participants into three groups based on the age at which they attained menopause: Group 1 (30-39 years), Group 2 (40-49 years), and Group 3 (50-55 years). A well-tested questionnaire was used to collect information on reproductive variables. ResultsWe applied discriminant function analysis to identify the factors associated with different ages at menopause. Results show that factors like age at menarche, duration of breastfeeding of the last child, and age at first pregnancy discriminate the different menopausal age groups. ConclusionWe concluded that reproductive factors discriminate the three different menopausal age groups for this study population. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:710-715, 2015. (c) 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.