Earlier menopause can be triggered by toxic heavy metals


Dr. Tim Sandle
January 25, 2024


Picking up a glass of water. — Image © Tim Sandle.

A new health study finds middle-aged women with elevated levels of heavy metals are more likely to have depleted ovarian function and egg reserves. The significance is where this may lead to earlier arrival of menopause and its negative health effects.

The research comes from the University of Michigan, and it is based on assessing data relating to hundreds of women approaching menopause (drawn from the U.S. Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation). This review finds that the presence of cadmium, mercury and arsenic in their urine was connected to low levels of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH).

The women in the study were ages 45 to 56 were ethnically diverse: 45 percent white, 21 percent Black, 15 percent Chinese and 19 percent Japanese.

AMH measures ovarian reserve, or the number of eggs available for fertilization or menstruation. The temporal significance is since the menopause is the time of life when hormone depletion ends monthly menstruation and sets off many changes to women’s health and wellness.

The of associations between heavy metals and AMH was stronger than the association between smoking and AMH, which is a previously characterised risk factor for depleted ovarian reserve. So far, only a few studies have explored associations of cadmium and lead with AMH.

Commenting on the findings, Sung Kyun Park, associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health sciences at the U-M School of Public Health, states; “Widespread exposure to toxins in heavy metals may have a big impact on health problems linked to earlier aging of the ovaries in middle-aged women, such as hot flashes, bone weakening and osteoporosis, higher chances of heart disease, and cognitive decline.”

Hence, the potential adverse effects of heavy metals on ovarian function should be of significant public health concern. Arsenic, cadmium, mercury and lead are commonly found in drinking water, air pollution and some foods, notably seafood and rice.

It is hoped the information will enable researchers to address adverse health outcomes known to be associated with metals and with reproductive hormone changes such as premature menopause, bone loss and osteoporosis, increased risks of cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline and vasomotor symptoms. The research is published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The study is titled “Heavy Metals and Trajectories of Anti-Müllerian Hormone During the Menopausal Transition.”