Associação entre o comprimento do telômero e a menopausa: evidências da literatura e de um estudo transversal com mulheres idosas da comunidade

Abstract

Knowing the important repercussions of menopause for women's health and that female longevity can be better understood through studies based on biomarkers of aging, studies on the relationship between menopause and telomere length may help to better understand this phase of life. Therefore, the objective of this study was to verify whether menopause is associated with telomere length. This is a study that was developed in two stages. The first consisted of an integrative literature review with searches in the databases PubMed, CINAHL, LILACS, Web of Science and Scopus. Four studies were selected for the final sample, and their findings indicate that older age at menopause and longer reproductive lifespan (difference between age at menopause and menarche) are associated with longer telomere length, i.e. to longevity. The second stage consisted of a cross-sectional study carried out with a sample of 286 women aged 60 years or over living in municipality of southern Minas Gerais. Data collection was carried out through home interviews and blood collection. The dependent variable of the study was telomere length determined using qPCR and the independent variable was age at menopause (self-reported). Linear regression was used in data analysis. The results of the cross-sectional study revealed a negative association between years of study and age at menopause with telomere length, while being underweight according to body mass index showed a positive association. It is concluded, therefore, that the younger the age at menopause, the shorter the telomere length in the sample evaluated in the cross-sectional study. As for what has been produced in the scientific literature, the small number of studies included in the integrative review and the fact that the results indicate that the relationship between menopause and telomere length may be dependent on the stage of menopause, race/ethnicity, education and body weight, suggest that additional research focusing on these variables be carried out.