Premature Menopause : A Better Understanding

For those women who want a better understanding of premature menopause, we need to start at the very beginning. What exactly is menopause?

Menopause is the total ending of a woman’s period (menses) for 12 consecutive months. Periods end for a number of reasons. First, because the ovaries have run out of eggs, second, no longer respond to the body's hormonal signals, third,) have been damaged, or fourth, have been surgically removed.

There are some key ways to determine whether or not a woman is actually menopausal such as the length of time without a period and a test of her follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) levels and estradiol, the main circulating estrogen.

The average age for menopause is 51 but if a woman goes through menopause prior to this, she is usually said to have experienced early or premature menopause.

Premature menopause is menopause that occurs before the age of 40. Early menopause and/or premature menopause are terms often used in different situations and conditions. If premature menopause occurs naturally, in other words, if a woman has not had surgery or radiation treatment and/or chemotherapy leading into menopause, then it is commonly known as premature ovarian failure (POF). This basically means that a woman’s ovaries are not working as they should. Sometimes, women stop having periods not because she no longer has eggs, but because her body is not responding to the hormonal signals.

Another situation of premature menopause may be caused by autoimmune disorders that would include thyroid disease or diabetes mellitus. In either of these diseases, the body produces antibodies to one or more of its own organs. Those antibodies interfere with the normal function of the organ; therefore, antibodies may attack the ovaries, stopping the production of female hormones.

Finally, premature menopause can result from surgery or cancer treatments, again to include both radiation and chemotherapy.

In either of these cases, there is a clear cause for the change in the woman’s body. The result of surgery may be that she has undergone an oophorectomy (the ovaries have been removed whereby ovarian hormones are no longer being produced), or a hysterectomy (pelvic surgery that interfered with blood flow to the ovaries, causing ovarian failure). The result of cancer treatments is damaged ovaries.

Therefore, this is a brief summary of a very complicated subject. The bottom line is that - premature menopause means a woman’s reproductive system is no longer working the way it used to work.

Remember, menopause typically occurs around the age of 51. However, premature menopause can begin much earlier, often when the woman least expects it. The one sure thing to remember is that premature menopause is a perfectly normal process and therefore, cannot be prevented.