WHAT CAUSES EARLY MENOPAUSE? www.drnhi.com
WHAT IS MENOPAUSE? Most women begin menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. The average age for menopause onset in the United States is 51 years old, according to the National Institute on Aging. Early menopause usually refers to onset before age 40. Menopause occurs when your ovaries stop producing estrogen, the hormone that controls the reproductive cycle. A woman is in menopause when she hasn’t had a period for more than 12 months. But associated symptoms, such as hot flashes, start long before menopause during a period called perimenopause.
CAUSES: GENETICS If there’s no obvious medical reason for early menopause, the cause is likely genetic. Your age at menopause onset is likely inherited. Knowing when your mother started menopause can provide clues about when you’ll start your own. If your mother started menopause early, you’re more likely than average to do the same. However, genes tell only half the story.
CAUSES: LIFESTYLE FACTORS Some lifestyle factors may have an impact on when you begin menopause. Smoking has antiestrogen effects that can contribute to early menopause. An analysis in 2012 of several studies showed that long-term or regular smokers are likely to experience menopause sooner. According to the Mayo Clinic, women who smoke may start menopause one to two years earlier than women who don’t smoke.
CAUSES: CHROMOSOME DEFECTS Some chromosomal defects can lead to early menopause. For example, Turner syndrome (also called monosomy X and gonadal dysgenesis) involves being born with an incomplete chromosome. Women with Turner syndrome have ovaries that don’t function properly. This often causes them to enter menopause prematurely. Other chromosomal defects can cause early menopause, too. This includes pure gonadal dysgenesis, a variation on Turner syndrome. In this condition, the ovaries don’t function. Instead, periods and secondary sex characteristics must be brought about by hormone replacement therapy (HRT), usually during adolescence.
CAUSES: AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES Premature menopause can be a symptom of an autoimmune disease such as thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis. In autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakes a part of the body for an invader and attacks it. Inflammation caused by some of these diseases can affect the ovaries. Menopause begins when the ovaries stop working.
CAUSES: EPILEPSY Epilepsy is a seizure disorder that stems from the brain. Women with epilepsy are more likely to experience premature ovarian failure, which leads to menopause. An older study from 2001 found that in a group of women with epilepsy, about 14 percent of those studied had premature menopause, as opposed to 1 percent of the general population.
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