What diseases are women with early menopause at risk of?
PT Health Life – The average age of menopause for women is about 45 – 55 years old, but there are some cases of earlier menopause. Research shows that early menopause can cause women to face more health risks than usual.
1. At what age does early menopause occur?
Premature menopause occurs when the ovaries stop producing hormones and menstruation stops at a younger age than normal. The average age of menopause in normal women is between 45 and 55 years old. However, there are cases where menopause occurs before age 40. This age is called early menopause.
menopause is when a woman officially has not had a period for 12 consecutive months. Menopause before age 40 is called early menopause, and after age 55 it is called late menopause.
Most women are afraid and do not want to go through this period, which is due to the decrease in a series of female hormones causing many changes that affect life such as: personality changes, hot flashes and increased appetite. risk of metabolic disorders, heart, blood vessels, bones and joints, memory loss…
2. Which cases are susceptible to early menopause?
According to medical experts, early menopause is common in women who are often stressed, depressed, smoke, drink alcohol, have immune disorders, premature ovarian failure, and have to undergo radiotherapy. hysterectomy, oophorectomy…
According to documents from the Office of Women’s Health (US Department of Health and Human Services), early menopause can be due to the following causes:
Family history: Women with a family history of early menopause are more likely to experience early menopause.
Smoking: Women who smoke may experience menopause two years earlier than non-smokers. At the same time, you are more likely to have severe menopausal symptoms.
Chemotherapy or pelvic radiation to treat cancer: These treatments can damage the ovaries and cause a woman’s periods to stop temporarily or permanently.
Oophorectomy: Surgical removal of both ovaries can cause immediate menopause. Menstruation will stop after this surgery and a woman’s hormone levels will decrease rapidly. These people may also have severe menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and low sexual desire .
Hysterectomy: Some women who have a hysterectomy are able to keep their ovaries. If this happens, they will no longer menstruate and cannot become pregnant but may not go through menopause immediately because the ovaries continue to produce hormones. Later, they may experience natural menopause a year or two earlier than expected.
In addition, some women have other health problems such as autoimmune diseases (thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis), HIV-infected women who are not well treated, chronic fatigue syndrome, and women with HIV. Women born with missing chromosomes or chromosomal problems are at greater risk of early menopause.
3. Health risks for women with early menopause
Studies show that women who go through menopause early are more likely to have many health risks. In particular, the risk of cardiovascular disease is much greater than that of normal people. The reason is that estrogen is closely related to the balance of fat in the blood, when bad cholesterol in the blood increases while good cholesterol decreases, leading to the risk of atherosclerosis and narrowing of blood vessels, hindering blood circulation. …
Early menopause increases the risk of osteoporosis, bones become weaker, more susceptible to arthritis, and brittle bones due to reduced calcium retention density in bones.
Women who go through menopause early also often have more severe menopause symptoms. Not only does that cause a lot of discomfort, but it is also associated with other health risks. Research has also linked hot flashes in women with early menopause to cognitive decline and heart attacks later in life.
According to a new study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke, early menopause before age 40 increases the risk of stroke. The study looked at data from 16,244 postmenopausal women in the Netherlands. After following these women for about 15 years and adjusting for related factors, the researchers found that women who went through menopause before age 40 had a 1.0 percent higher risk of ischemic stroke. 5 times more likely than in women aged 50 – 54. This association was stronger in women who went through natural menopause than in those who went through menopause after oophorectomy.
Because of the health risks, experts advise women at risk of early menopause to proactively implement lifestyle changes, maintain exercise and have a healthy diet; You should have regular health check-ups and see a specialist to advise on appropriate interventions if your health shows any abnormalities.