Menopause is actually three different phases: perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause. In the US, the average age of menopause is 52 years old.
There is a wide age range for menopause, it can occur naturally between 40 and 60 years. If menopause occurs before the age of 40, it is considered premature menopause.
If menopause happens earlier than 45 years, it is considered early menopause. Early menopause can occur due to genetic disorder, illness, medical treatment or surgery.
Women who have premature menopause because of surgery usually have more severe symptoms such as hot flashes due to sudden hormonal imbalance.
Due to the aging baby boomer generation, about 6,000 women go into menopause day, this makes 2,000,000 women each year. Since baby boomers are the largest generation in history, this is unprecedented. This figure will fall sharply in the next generations.
Not all women get menopause symptoms
For women who do report symptoms are hot flashes most common, with 90% of women with symptoms report hot flashes.
Hot flashes are usually the worst at the beginning of perimenopause, this may be due to the change in the body hormone imbalance that occurs.
Women with more education and higher incomes report better overall health and fewer symptoms.
Employed women fair better than unemployed women, they also report better overall health and fewer symptoms.
Only 10% of women report depression, anxiety or other negative emotions about menopause.
Depression and anxiety are reported more in the US than in other countries.
In 2002, the women & # 39; s Health Initiative study stopped using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in menopausal women. This study was stopped before its conclusion because it revealed serious health risks involved in the use of HRT, hazards associated with heart disease, breast cancer and blood clots. Before this study, HRT was the treatment of choice for menopause, but after this study, HRT use dropped almost overnight.
Menopause perhaps not as bad as you expect, over 80% of women say that menopause does not affect the quality of life at all.
Menopause is unique for every woman, many factors such as diet, exercise, stress levels, genetics and prospects can all affect menopause.
Women who smoke go into menopause earlier than non-smokers.
postmenopausal women at increased risk of heart disease and osteoporosis.
Asian women living in Asian countries have almost no hot flashes. Studies have been conducted to determine why this is the case, it has been widely attributed to higher consumption of soy products.
Soy may or may not work to control hot flashes. Some studies have shown that it reduces the strength, but not the frequency of hot flashes. Other studies have shown that soy consumption can affect the body & # 39; s ability to produce estrogen and progesterone, hormones that regulate menstruation and ovulation. This would mean that soy is actually working at cross purposes with the body.
In a culture where older people are more respected and aging is seen as a positive experience, women have less symptoms and problems associated with menopause.
According to the Gallup poll in 1998, 51% of postmenopausal women aged 50-65 reported greater sense of happiness than women in other age groups. Other age groups listed as follows: only 10% of women in their 20s reported to be happy, 17% of women in their 30s and 16% of women in their 40s.
Source by Beth Adams