No Relationship Seen Between Menopause and Diabetes Onset

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 21, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Neither age at menopause nor type of menopause is significantly associated with diabetes onset, according to a study published online Jan. 13 in Menopause.

Jose Antonio Quesada, Ph.D., from Miguel Hernández University of Elche in Spain, and colleagues examined the association between the timing and type of menopause and the possible development of type 1 or 2 diabetes. The analysis included 146,764 female participants in the U.K. Biobank, with a mean follow-up of 14.5 years.

The researchers found that the cumulative incidence of diabetes was 4.5 percent. Rates were higher in women with earlier menopause (older than 45 years: 4.2 percent; 40 to 45 years: 5.2 percent; and younger than 40 years: 7.4 percent). However, the association was not significant compared with the normal age of menopause as the reference. There was also no association between surgical menopause and a greater risk for diabetes versus natural menopause.

“The results of this study highlight that, although postmenopausal women are at increased risk for diabetes, it does not appear to be related to the age at menopause onset or whether menopause occurs naturally or due to surgery, but rather to cardiovascular and lifestyle risk factors,” Stephanie Faubion, M.D., medical director for The Menopause Society, said in a statement. “This is somewhat reassuring in that cardiovascular risk factors, such as hypertension and hyperlipidemia, can be controlled, and lifestyle factors, such as smoking, diet, and exercise are modifiable, whereas age at menopause is not.”

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