OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine sexual orientation differences in natural menopause timing and symptoms between lesbian and bisexual women compared with heterosexual women. METHODS We used longitudinal questionnaire data (1989-2015) from 92,314 women (858 lesbian, 375 bisexual) in the Nurses' Health Study II cohort. Women were 24-44 yr old at baseline and biennially reported their menopause status, including reasons for cessation of menstrual periods. In 2009 and 2013, women reported on their experience of hot flashes and night sweats. Covariates included age, age at menarche, body mass index, smoking, and parity. Sexual orientation was reported in 1995 and 2009. RESULTS Age-adjusted Cox models and logistic regression models suggest that there were no statistically significant differences in menopause timing between lesbian or bisexual women when compared with heterosexual women. When examining menopause symptoms, lesbian women consistently had a statistically significantly (P < 0.05) higher odds of experiencing hot flashes or night sweats (odds ratio range: 1.17 to 1.72) and moderate/severe symptoms (OR range: 1.26 to 1.77) than heterosexual women, even after adjusting for covariates such as smoking and obesity. There were no statistically significant differences in menopause symptoms between bisexual and heterosexual women. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest no meaningful difference in menopause timing between sexual minority and heterosexual women. Additionally, menopause symptoms were more likely among lesbian women and warrants additional study.

中文翻译：

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护士健康研究 II 中女同性恋、双性恋和异性恋女性的自然更年期时间和更年期症状。


目的 本研究旨在检查女同性恋和双性恋女性与异性恋女性在自然绝经时间和症状方面的性取向差异。方法 我们使用了护士健康研究 II 队列中 92,314 名女性 （858 名女同性恋，375 名双性恋） 的纵向问卷数据 （1989-2015）。女性基线年龄为 24-44 岁，每两年报告一次更年期状态，包括月经停止的原因。在 2009 年和 2013 年，女性报告了她们的潮热和盗汗经历。协变量包括年龄、初潮年龄、体重指数、吸烟和胎次。性取向在 1995 年和 2009 年都有报道。结果 年龄调整后的 Cox 模型和 logistic 回归模型表明，与异性恋女性相比，女同性恋或双性恋女性的更年期时间没有统计学上的显着差异。在检查更年期症状时，女同性恋女性出现潮热或盗汗的几率始终高于异性恋女性，即使在调整了吸烟和肥胖等协变量后，出现潮热或盗汗的几率始终高于异性恋女性（P < 0.05）和中度/重度症状（OR 范围：1.26 至 1.77）。双性恋和异性恋女性的更年期症状没有统计学上的显著差异。结论 我们的研究结果表明，性少数群体和异性恋女性之间的更年期时间没有有意义的差异。此外，女同性恋女性更年期症状更常见，值得进一步研究。