Early menopause linked to breast cancer in women [Video]

By Stephen Beech via SWNS

Women who enter menopause before the age of 40 are more likely to develop breast cancer, warns new research.

They may also be at greater risk of ovarian cancer, say scientists.

And the relatives of women who experience early menopause – including men – also face a greater cancer risk, according to the findings of the American study.

Study leader Dr. Corrine Welt, of the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City, said: “There is also higher risk of breast, prostate and colon cancer in relatives of these women.”

Dr. Welt and her colleagues began the study with the hypothesis that some women with primary ovarian insufficiency and their relatives might be predisposed to reproductive or hormone-related cancers.

Primary ovarian insufficiency is a condition that occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop working normally before the age of 40.

The research team identified 613 women with primary ovarian insufficiency and 165 women …