Listen to Story In a recent study, scientists have discovered a gene that is probably behind the cause of early menopause in many women. This gene variant when inherited from both parents could lead to menopause, the period during which a woman's menstrual cycle stops for good, almost a decade earlier. In our bodies, gene variants are small changes in the instructions that make us who we are, sometimes leading to different traits or health conditions.
Scientists at deCODE genetics, who published their findings in Nature Genetics , focused on a rare genetic variant in the CCDC201 gene, which affects when women go through menopause. Researchers analysed data from over 1,74,000 women from Iceland, Denmark, the UK, and Norway. They found that women with two copies of this variant, known as homozygotes, tend to enter menopause much earlier, on average, nine years sooner than those without the variant.
In our bodies, gene variants are small changes in the instructions that make us who we are, sometimes leading to different traits or health conditions. (Photo: Getty Images) The CCDC201 gene, which was only recognised as a protein-coding gene in humans in 2022, is highly active in egg cells. The study shows that losing the function of this gene has a major impact on female reproductive health.
For women who have two copies of this gene variant, early menopause is common. About 1 in 10,000 women of Northern European descent carry this variant, and nearly half of them experience primar.