ORLANDO, Fla. – Early menopause is menopause that happens between ages 40 and 45. Often, it occurs for no clear reason, but now researchers are finding there are some factors that can increase a woman’s risk of early menopause.
“I started having heart palpitations and, like, chest pain and, like, just weird heartbeats,” Kristy Nalder said.
But for some, it happens much earlier than expected. We’re talking about menopause.
For most women, menopause happens around age 51. But early menopause happens before age 45. Often surgery to remove the ovaries or uterus or cancer treatments are to blame. Smoking is another possible cause for the earlier change.
“Women who are smokers tend to hit menopause and experience menopausal symptoms a year or two earlier than those who go into menopause naturally,” Camille Moreno at the University of Utah said.
A new review also found that women who don’t get enough vitamin D are one-third more likely to experience menopause before age 45. One theory is that vitamin d slows down aging of the ovaries. A woman’s family history and race also play a role in early menopause.
“Women of color tend to experience the menopausal transition earlier. They tend to have more bothersome and more severe quality of life symptoms and they suffer the longest,” Moreno said.
Other health conditions such as thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, infections, and HIV can increase the risk.
Treatment for early menopause typically involves taking hormone therapy to replace some of the hormones that are lost.
Menopause at a younger age can increase a woman’s chances of developing conditions – like heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease.
There is one good thing about early menopause: the extra years without estrogen lowers a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.