Vitamin D: No cure-all for older women

Postmenopausal women receive no additional mortality benefit from vitamin D after controlling for health risk factors such as abdominal obesity, a new study finds.

The research, consistent with advice issued last fall by the Institute of Medicine, found no evidence linking vitamin D to the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular disease, or other causes of death after controlling for health factors like abdominal obesity.

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Why smoking may speed up the onset of the menopause

Smoking can bring on the menopause a year early, experts have warned.

As well as increasing the risk of bone and heart disease, smoking could cause women’s periods to stop prematurely, researchers say.

The study, carried out at the University of Hong Kong, assessed data from previous studies which included around 6,000 women from the United States, Poland, Turkey and Iran.

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