While overall later menopause is probably healthier, it is associated with an elevated risk of developing breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. The average age for menopause is 51, and the women in this study were close to that number, with an average age at menopause of 50.5.
Benefits of late-onset menopause
Even though women who reach menopause later are at a higher risk for breast, uterine and ovarian cancers, women who go through menopause late are at a lower risk for heart disease and stroke.
Having an early or premature menopause can increase the risk of osteoporosis (weak bones) and cardiovascular (heart) disease. It is believed that HRT can reduce these risks, as well as controlling menopausal symptoms.
“That doesn't sound like much but it adds up over a woman's lifespan.” For example, a woman who enters early menopause at age 42 would age more rapidly over the next eight years than a woman who entered menopause at age 50.
While overall later menopause is probably healthier, it is associated with an elevated risk of developing breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. The average age for menopause is 51, and the women in this study were close to that number, with an average age at menopause of 50.5.
Women who have early menopause have a shorter overall life expectancy and are at increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D) earlier in life compared with women who have menopause at a typical or later age, according to a study published in Menopause.
Premature or early menopause is associated with numerous adverse health outcomes including cognitive impairment, dementia, parkinsonism, glaucoma, CHD, osteoporosis, mood disorders, sexual dysfunction, and increased overall mortality.
Menopause that happens before age 40 is called premature menopause. Menopause that happens between 40 and 45 is called early menopause. About 5% of women naturally go through early menopause. Smoking and certain medicines or treatments can cause menopause to come earlier than usual.
Menopause can happen in your 40s or 50s, but the average age is 51 in the United States. Menopause is a natural biological process. But the physical symptoms, such as hot flashes, and emotional symptoms of menopause may disrupt your sleep, lower your energy or affect emotional health.
The Research. The study, which was conducted in the United States and published in July 2016, shows that women who start their period after the age of 12, go through menopause after the age of 50, and have more than 40 reproductive years, may have an increased chance of living past the age of 90.
The menopausal transition most often begins between ages 45 and 55. It usually lasts about seven years but can be as long as 14 years. The duration can depend on lifestyle factors such as smoking, age it begins, and race and ethnicity.
Most causes of early menopause are beyond your control. Smoking cigarettes is the only lifestyle factor that may cause early menopause. You can reduce your risk of menopause by quitting smoking. The other causes of menopause like health conditions, surgeries or treatment for cancer are unpreventable in most cases.
The research in SWAN shows that Black women reach menopause at 49, two years earlier than the national median age. Other SWAN data shows Latinas reach menopause two years earlier than the median age as well. It also appears that Black women spend more time in the menopause transition than white women do.
“Women who experience premature menopause, meaning before age 40, or early menopause, between the ages of 40 and 45, are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, overall mortality, neurological and psychological disease and osteoporosis,” she says.
Premature ovarian failure can sometimes run in families. This might be the case if any of your relatives went through the menopause at a very young age (20s or early 30s).
Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, the average being around 51.
Menopause is divided into three basic stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. During this time, the ovaries begin to atrophy which causes a decline in the production of the hormones that stimulate the menstrual cycle; estrogen and progesterone.
The bottom line is if you haven't reached menopause – defined as 12 straight months without a period – you can still get pregnant. Dr. Bembry acknowledges that some women develop a false sense of security when they go off birth control and go for years without becoming pregnant.
Menopause is the natural process that marks the end of a woman's reproductive years when menstrual cycles stop. It typically happens during the 40s or 50s, with the average age of menopause in the U.S. at 51. Skipping periods as you approach menopause — a stage sometimes called perimenopause — is common and expected.