Which is healthier for women: menopause at 40 or 50? Be careful if you go through menopause later than this age

Recently, the topic of "premature ovarian failure" has been on the hot search from time to time.

Image source: Screenshot from Sina Weibo

When it comes to "premature ovarian failure", many women's first reaction is "menopause". After all, once menopause occurs, it means that their ovaries have aged, and it also means that they are really old.

Therefore, many women start to worry about whether they are about to enter menopause once they turn 40. They hope that the menopause will come later, and even think that the later the better.

The question is: Is it really better for women to go through menopause as late as possible? Let’s talk about it in detail today.

Is it normal to have menopause at 40?

Let me first give you the answer: Menopause is a normal physiological phenomenon, but premature menopause is definitely abnormal. Menopause before the age of 40 is called premature ovarian failure, and menopause before the age of 45 is called early menopause.

We know that the root cause of female menopause is the gradual exhaustion of female ovarian function. The so-called menopause is a special process in which the female reproductive system goes from maturity to functional exhaustion. During this period, menstruation will also occur, but often menstruation may become less regular, which is often a signal of decreased ovarian function.

Premature ovarian failure means that the ovarian function shuts down prematurely. If you have irregular menstruation for more than three consecutive months before the age of 40 without any external factors, it is recommended that you go to a professional menopause clinic or a gynecological endocrinology clinic for treatment in a timely manner.

Premature menopause can cause a premature drop in women's estrogen levels, which may not only cause a series of estrogen deficiency symptoms to appear earlier than expected, such as hot flashes, night sweats, palpitations, insomnia, joint pain, etc., but also increase the risk of subsequent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes.

Is it true that the later the menopause, the better?

Let me first give you the answer: Of course not. It is the healthiest and most natural for women to go through menopause at a normal age. If you are over 55 and have not yet gone through menopause, don’t think that you are aging slowly. Instead, be wary of late menopause.

The age of menopause in women is affected by many factors, including genetics, ethnicity, smoking, and reproductive history. Most women go into menopause between the ages of 48 and 50, with the median age of natural menopause in the United States being 51.4 years old and in China being 48.5 years old. However, not everyone fits into this time period, and a slight advance or delay is not necessarily a problem.

For women who experience late menopause, estrogen levels remain high in the body for a longer period of time, and special attention should be paid to tumors in hormone-related organs, such as benign and malignant lesions of the endometrium, ovaries, and breasts.

How to delay menopause?

The reason why women go through menopause is that the follicles in their ovaries are exhausted and cannot ovulate and secrete estrogen and progesterone periodically. This irreversible process cannot be reversed in principle, but if you pay attention to the following aspects in your daily life, it may be helpful to delay women's natural menopause.

1. Quit smoking

Women who smoke will also reach menopause 1 to 2 years earlier than non-smoking women. Even if you don’t smoke, if someone in your family smokes and you are exposed to passive smoking for more than 5 years, it will also bring forward the menopause of women.

2. Avoid staying up late for long periods of time

It is not a good lifestyle for women. Studies have shown that women who often stay up late will have decreased ovarian function and an earlier age of menopause. The author has encountered a 17-year-old girl in the clinic who suffered from ovarian failure due to staying up late for a long time.

3. Maintain a good mood

Negative emotions may also affect women's endocrine system, leading to premature menopause.

4. Try to avoid ovarian-related surgeries, such as abortions, etc.

Minimize ovarian-related surgical treatments, conduct regular checkups, and treat pathological masses on the ovaries as early as possible, and minimize the use of drugs that damage ovarian function.

5. Avoid excessive weight loss and dieting

Avoiding excessive dieting and losing weight too drastically play an important role in protecting women's ovarian function.

In addition, studies have shown that for women who are married and have children, proper breastfeeding can protect their ovarian function and appropriately delay the age of menopause.

In short, maintaining a regular life, not staying up late to work overtime, maintaining a positive and optimistic attitude, not smoking and staying away from secondhand smoke as much as possible, and breastfeeding appropriately are all positive factors in protecting ovarian function.

References

[1] Clinical manifestations and diagnosis of menopause, AUTHOR: Robert F Casper, MD, translator: Chen Rong, chief physician, professor

This article is a work of Science Popularization China-Starry Sky Project

Produced by: Science Popularization Department of China Association for Science and Technology

Producer｜China Science and Technology Press Co., Ltd., Beijing Zhongke Xinghe Culture Media Co., Ltd.

Author: Lan Yibing, deputy chief physician, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine

Reviewer: Tang Qin, Director and Researcher of the Science Popularization Department of the Chinese Medical Association