Early menopause may speed up aging in women: study

Women who enter menopause early may age faster than women in whom menopause arrives later, said a study Monday that could help pinpoint women at highest risk of age-related diseases. The findings could settle a long-standing debate, said Steve Horvath, a professor of human genetics and biostatistics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. "For decades, scientists have disagreed over whether menopause causes aging or aging causes menopause," said Horvath, senior author of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.