Age of menopause and menopausal symptoms in HIV-infected women

The objective of this study was to examine the median age of menopause, factors associated with postmenopausal status, and the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in HIV-infected women. We surveyed 120 HIV-infected women between 40 and 57 years old who attended an inner city infectious diseases clinic. Ninety-five percent of the women surveyed were African American and almost half of the women (44%) had used methadone, heroin, cocaine, marijuana, or a combination of these drugs within the past 6 months. Eighty-seven percent had smoked cigarettes at least some time during their life and 45% drank alcohol between the ages of 40 and 49 years old. Thirty women were postmenopausal (having no menstrual periods in the previous 12 consecutive months), 31 were perimenopausal (having 1-11 periods within the previous 12 months), and 59 were premenopausal (having 12 or more periods within the previous 12 months). The median age of menopause was 50 years old (95% confidence interval = 49, 53). In a multivariate model, methadone use within the past 6 months was associated with postmenopausal status. We did not find an association between postmenopausal status and body mass index, number of pregnancies, CD4 cell counts, HIV viral load, individual and grouped antiretroviral therapies, cigarette smoking, and current or past oral contraceptive use. In multivariate analysis, postmenopausal status was associated with hot flashes and cocaine use was associated with vaginal dryness.