J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2026 Oct 5:dgag405. doi: 10.1210/clinem/dgag405. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
CONTEXT: Menstrual irregularities have been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, but underlying etiologies may confer distinct risk profiles. Functional hypothalamic amenorrhea (FHA) has not been evaluated as a separate risk phenotype.
OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between FHA phenotype and incident CVD and cardiometabolic risk factors.
DESIGN: Prospective cohort study with biennial follow-up from 1993 to 2019.
SETTING: Nurses' Health Study II cohort.
PARTICIPANTS: The sample included 52,655 premenopausal women free of CVD in 1993. FHA phenotype was defined as irregular or absent cycles without PCOS traits combined with low body mass index and/or high physical activity.
INTERVENTION: None.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Incident CVD (coronary heart disease [CHD; myocardial infarction or coronary revascularization] and stroke) and incident elevated cholesterol, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes (T2DM).
RESULTS: During up to 26 years of follow-up, 1,007 CVD events occurred. Among women who developed CVD, the median time to the first CVD event was 17.0 years (IQR, 11.3-21.0). FHA phenotype in mid-adulthood was associated with a 62% higher risk of CVD (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-2.59), driven by an almost two-fold higher risk of CHD (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.91; 95% CI: 1.11-3.27), compared with women with regular cycles. FHA was also associated with T2DM (HR = 1.86; 95% CI: 1.41-2.47), but not hypertension or elevated cholesterol. Non-FHA menstrual irregularity was associated with elevated cholesterol, hypertension, and T2DM, but not CVD. FHA in early adulthood was not associated with outcomes.
CONCLUSIONS: FHA phenotype in mid-adulthood was associated with increased CHD risk independent of traditional risk factors. Menstrual history may serve as an early marker of cardiometabolic risk.
PMID:42831273 | DOI:10.1210/clinem/dgag405