ArticleBMJ global health2026
Prevalence and determinants of premature or early menopause: a pooled analysis of 716 648 women from 44 low- and middle-income countries.
Article in BMJ global health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPremature (<40 years) or early (40-44 years) menopause is associated with increased risks of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis and premature mortality. Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) appear to have a higher prevalence, although multicountry comparative data are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence and determinants of premature or early menopause among women aged 30-49 years in 44 LMICs.
methodsThe most recent round of Demographic and Health Surveys from 44 countries conducted since 2015 was pooled together, accounting for 716 648 women aged 30-49. Premature or early menopause was defined as cessation of menstruation for ≥6 months, self-reported menopause or hysterectomy before age 45. We calculated pooled weighted prevalence with 95% CIs and used multivariable logistic regression to identify associated factors, accounting for complex survey design.
resultsThe pooled prevalence of premature or early menopause was 7.1% (95% CI 7.0% to 7.2%). Country-level prevalence ranged from 2.3% in Jordan and 2.6% in Gabon to 12% in Ethiopia and 11.5% in Indonesia. Prevalence was consistently higher in rural than urban areas across all regions, with South Asia and East Asia and Pacific showing the highest regional burden. In multivariable analysis, higher education, employment, marriage at age 18 years or older, first birth at age 18 years or older and parity of three or more children were associated with lower odds of early menopause. Conversely, middle wealth index and rural residence were associated with increased odds of premature or early menopause.
conclusionPremature or early menopause affects 1 in 14 women aged 30-49 in LMICs, with marked rural disadvantage and strong protective effects of education and delayed childbearing. Findings underscore the urgent need to integrate menopause into reproductive health and non-communicable disease programmes, particularly targeting rural areas and addressing social determinants, including girls' education and delayed marriage.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.