When do women go through menopause?

Women usually enter menopause, which is the period of menopause, between the ages of 45 and 55. However, because many factors can affect women's menopause or delay the age of menopause, this cannot be generalized.

1. Menopause in women refers to the period when the ovarian function further declines and eventually disappears. According to foreign statistics, the risk of death for women who menopause before the age of 40 is 39% higher than that for women who menopause between the ages of 40 and 44, 60% higher than that for women who menopause between the ages of 45 and 49, and 95% higher than that for women who menopause between the ages of 50 and 54. Therefore, understanding the various factors that affect menopause and delaying the age of menopause are issues that cannot be ignored in the health care of middle-aged and elderly women.

2. The most important factor that determines a woman's age of menopause is the number of oocytes. When a baby is born, there are about one million oocytes in each ovary, and the number of oocytes continues to decrease after birth. When the number of oocytes decreases to a critical number, menopause occurs. The mechanism that controls or regulates the rate of oocyte decline is not yet fully understood, but the following factors are clearly related to the early or late menopause.

3. Nutrition is closely related to the age of menopause. Studies have found that compared with women with long-term malnutrition, short stature and light weight, the average menopause age of women with better nutrition, relatively tall stature and relatively heavy weight is 43.6, while that of women with better nutrition, relatively tall stature and relatively heavy weight is 47.3 years old. Smoking is a major factor in early menopause. Benzopyrene in cigarettes is a lethal factor to oocytes. Animal experiments have shown that a small dose of benzopyrene can destroy 25% of oocytes, while a large dose of benzopyrene can destroy 98% of oocytes. A survey by the Royal University Hospital in the UK showed that women who smoke enter menopause 54 years earlier than non-smoking women on average.

4. Diseases: It is generally believed that chronic wasting diseases, metabolic and endocrine diseases, tumors, mumps complicated with oophoritis, etc. can all cause ovarian dysfunction, abnormal secretion of hormones such as adrenal cortex, thyroid, pituitary gland, etc., and premature menopause. In addition, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and some autoimmune diseases can also cause premature ovarian dysfunction and menopause.

5. The age of menopause is also related to various mental and psychological factors. Studies have shown that women who have harmonious marital relationships and harmonious sex lives reach menopause relatively later than women who have disharmonious marital relationships, indulge in lust or lack sex lives. Especially for women who suffer from mental and psychological stress, overwork, long-term depression and anxiety, their neuroendocrine functions may be affected and they may enter menopause prematurely.

The average age of menopause for urban women in my country is 49.5 years old, and for rural women it is 47.5 years old. The age of menopause can range between 35 and 55 years old, and is 51.4 years old for American women. The age range for menopause can be between 48 and 55 years old. In recent centuries, the age of menarche has tended to be earlier, but the age of menopause has not changed significantly. Menopause before the age of 40 is called "premature menopause" or "premature ovarian failure"; about 1% of women experience menopause before the age of 40, and menopause after the age of 55 is called "delayed menopause."