Some women are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than others.

Sounds a little alarming, right? While type 2 diabetes is a disease caused by a certain lifestyle, it seems that there is one more thing that may be linked to it.

Women who go through menopause earlier in life are more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Menopause and Diabetes

In a study out of the Netherlands, it was found that women who experienced menopause before the age of 40 were four times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who experienced it later.

The researchers followed 4,000 women for about nine years. The participants were given questionnaires, and the answers were compared with the participant’s medical records in hopes of finding any patterns.

By the end of the study, 348 of the participants had developed type 2 diabetes.

Women who went through menopause between the ages of 40 and 44 were 2.4 times more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Those who experience menopause between 45 and 55 have a 60% higher chance of developing diabetes.

The good news is that the average age of menopause in the United States is 51.

This hardly solves anything, though.

While menopause can be affected by hormones, it can also be greatly affected by certain lifestyles choices because, after all, hormones are influenced by lifestyle choices, too.

In fact, high stress triggers a natural fight-or-flight response in our bodies, which virtually shuts off all other bodily functions. In terms of women’s health, it can cause irregular periods, depression, insomnia, indigestion, and more.

If stress can do this much damage, imagine how much damage poor diet and no exercise can do.

This is the exact line of thinking behind the researchers behind the study. The hope is to prevent both type 2 diabetes and disrupted hormones.