The age you started your periods is telling you something important about how long you’ll live

REMEMBER the age you were when you had your first period?

It turns out that information could tell you something very important about how long you are likely to live.

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Who knew?

A study carried out by the University of California in San Diego has found that those who started later in life are more likely to make it to 90.

Scientists studied data from the Women’s Health Initiative, which tracked 16,000 postmenopausal women, and found that those who began their menstrual cycles after the age of 12 were likely to live longer.

There was also a clue to lifespan in the age we hit menopause.

Women whose ‘change’ comes later – at over 50 – are more likely to be blowing out the candles on the 90^th.

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Bizarrely the late bloomers and late changers were also less likely to smoke or have diabetes.

The researchers say it’s not entirely clear why the age you start your periods and the age they stop affects your lifespan.

Aladdin Shadyab, the lead author on the study, said: “Our team found that women who started menstruation at a later age were less likely to have certain health issues, like coronary heart disease, and those who experienced menopause later in life were more likely to be in excellent health overall, which may be a possible explanation for our findings.

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“Factors, such as smoking, can damage the cardiovascular system and ovaries, which can result in earlier menopause.

“Women with later menopause and a longer reproductive lifespan may have decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases.”