Menopause is a normal change in a woman’s life when her period stops. A woman has reached menopause when she has not had a period for 12 months in a row. During menopause a woman’s body slowly makes less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This often happens between the ages of 45 and 55 years old. Some women may experience menopause at younger ages because of medical treatments such as surgery to remove the ovaries (sometimes done at the same time as a hysterectomy), family history (genes), or cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation to the pelvic area. According to U.S. Census data from 2000, there are about 37.5 million women reaching or currently at menopause (ages 40 to 59). As women near menopause, they may have symptoms from the changes their body is making. Some women may not have any other symptoms at all. Symptoms that some women experience near menopause include hot flashes (getting warm in the face, neck, or chest), night sweats or sleeping problems that led to feeling tired, stressed or tense, vaginal changes (the vagina may become dry and thin and sex may be painful) and thinning of bones, which may lead to loss of height and bone breaks. If a woman would like to treat her symptoms, she should talk to her health care provider to discuss treatment options.
Division of Reproductive Health's:
Fertility Epidemiology Studies (FES) Menopause and Hormone Therapy (womenshealth.gov) Menopause and
Menopause Treatments Fact sheet (womenshealth.gov)
Menopausal Hormone Therapy
Information (National Institute of Health)
Age Page: Menopause (National Institute on Aging)
Guidance on Menopausal
Hormone Therapies (Food and Drug Administration)
Medline Plus (National Library of Medicine)
QuickStats:
Annual Rate of Visits to Office-Based Physicians and Hospital
Outpatient Departments During Which Combination Estrogen-Progestin
Hormone Therapy Was Prescribed for Women Aged >40 years, by Age
Group—United States, 2001–2003
Hormone
Replacement Therapy: Knowledge and Use in the United States
View PDF 2.4MB NAMS (North American Menopause Society)* Pause—your complete guide to midlife health (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)*
Search PubMed for articles on Menopause
Date last updated: 2/7/2012 |
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