Kim Jung Ki, Crimmins Eileen M
Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA.
Menopause. 2025 Jun 3. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000002555.
This study examines the association between the timing of menopause and hysterectomy and biological aging, focusing on epigenetic and physiological aging markers.
Data were analyzed from women aged 56 and over in the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study (HRS). Regressions of biological aging measured by accelerated epigenetic aging and biological age based on physiological dysregulation on menopause/hysterectomy history were conducted to examine associations of normal-aged and early menopause with and without hysterectomy with biological aging.
Hysterectomy, whether following normal-aged or early menopause, or in younger ages, was significantly associated with markers of accelerated biological aging. Women with early menopause or hysterectomy showed accelerated epigenetic aging. Early menopause was associated with accelerated physiological dysregulation only when combined with hysterectomy, suggesting that surgical menopause may be related to accelerated systemic aging processes. Epigenetic clocks were associated with early cellular and molecular aging changes linked to natural early menopause, while physiological dysregulation was associated with the cumulative systemic impacts related to hysterectomy.
This study highlights associations between reproductive history and biological aging. These findings underscore the importance of considering both natural and surgical factors in menopause in evaluating aging-related health risks and suggest avenues for targeted interventions to mitigate health risks in women with these reproductive histories.
本研究探讨绝经时间和子宫切除术与生物衰老之间的关联，重点关注表观遗传和生理衰老标志物。
对具有全国代表性的健康与退休研究（HRS）中56岁及以上女性的数据进行分析。通过加速表观遗传衰老测量的生物衰老以及基于生理失调的生物年龄，对绝经/子宫切除术史进行回归分析，以检验有或无子宫切除术的正常绝经年龄和早绝经与生物衰老之间的关联。
子宫切除术，无论在正常绝经年龄或早绝经之后，还是在较年轻时进行，均与加速生物衰老的标志物显著相关。早绝经或子宫切除的女性表现出加速的表观遗传衰老。仅当早绝经与子宫切除术同时存在时，才与加速的生理失调相关，这表明手术绝经可能与加速的全身衰老过程有关。表观遗传时钟与自然早绝经相关的早期细胞和分子衰老变化有关，而生理失调与子宫切除术相关的累积全身影响有关。
本研究突出了生殖史与生物衰老之间的关联。这些发现强调了在评估与衰老相关的健康风险时，考虑绝经中的自然因素和手术因素的重要性，并为有这些生殖史的女性减轻健康风险的靶向干预措施提供了途径。
