Female sex is a prominent risk factor for chronic pain, although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the relationship between age at menopause, reproductive lifespan, and chronic pain in a sample of postmenopausal women aged 40 to 93 years. Data were collected from the Tromsø study conducted in Norway between 2015 and 2016 (Tromsø7). Chronic pain was assessed using a single question, which formed a sample size of 5741 participants. Chronic widespread pain was evaluated using the more comprehensive Graphical Index of Pain, resulting in a sample size of 5920 women. Premenopausal women and those who experienced menstrual cessation due to chemotherapy/radiation or hormonal intrauterine devices were excluded from the analysis. Adjusted relative risk ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to determine associations. The results showed that early menopause was associated with a 1% increase in the prevalence of chronic pain for each year of earlier onset at menopause (0.992, CI 95% 0.985-0.998). This association was also observed in women who experienced natural menopause only. However, the association between menopause and chronic widespread pain did not reach statistical significance in the fully adjusted analysis (0.996, CI 95% 0.975-1.017). There were no significant associations found between reproductive lifespan and either outcome. In conclusion, the findings suggest that early menopause in postmenopausal women is linked to a higher prevalence of chronic pain. However, reproductive lifespan does not appear to have a significant impact on chronic pain or chronic widespread pain.

中文翻译：

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绝经年龄和生育寿命与绝经后妇女的慢性疼痛结局有何关联？


女性是慢性疼痛的一个突出危险因素，尽管其潜在机制尚不完全清楚。这项横断面研究旨在调查 40 至 93 岁绝经后妇女样本的更年期年龄、生殖寿命和慢性疼痛之间的关系。数据收集自 2015 年至 2016 年在挪威进行的 Tromsø 研究 （Tromsø7）。使用单个问题评估慢性疼痛，该问题构成了 5741 名参与者的样本量。使用更全面的疼痛图形指数评估慢性广泛性疼痛，样本量为 5920 名女性。绝经前妇女和因化疗/放疗或激素宫内节育器而停止月经的妇女被排除在分析之外。计算调整后的相对风险比和 95% 置信区间以确定相关性。结果显示，绝经前期每早发一年，慢性疼痛患病率每提前一年增加 1% （0.992，CI 95% 0.985-0.998）。在仅经历自然绝经的女性中也观察到这种关联。然而，在完全调整的分析中，更年期与慢性广泛性疼痛之间的关联未达到统计学意义 （0.996，CI 95% 0.975-1.017）。在生殖寿命与任一结局之间均未发现显著关联。总之，研究结果表明，绝经后妇女的更年期提前与慢性疼痛的患病率较高有关。然而，生殖寿命似乎对慢性疼痛或慢性广泛性疼痛没有显着影响。