Most characteristics of menstruation and pregnancy were not associated with lung cancer risk, told lead author Dr. Anita Koushik, from the University of Montreal. However, she reported that a premature menopause was unexpected risk factor.
The present case-control study conducted in Montreal involved 422 women with lung cancer and 577 without the malignancy.
The study found that most menstruation and pregnancy factors had little or no effect on the risk of lung cancer. Where as non-natural menopause increased the odds of lung cancer by 1.92-fold.
In addition, results also found that women who were younger at menopause were at higher risk for lung cancer than those who were older at menopause.
The researchers reported that the findings were proved in all levels of smoking and did not vary by lung cancer histology.
Regarding future research, Dr. Koushik commented that we need to know if this association is real, and if so, how can we explain the association. New studies can address whether the association is related to an early age at menopause, or due to HRT use, or something else.
