Premature Menopause Causes That Women Must Know

The majority of women experience menopause (ie stop the functioning of the ovaries) when they reach their 40s or 50s. But, for some people, menopause comes more slowly, while for others even happen too early. Premature menopause is defined as menopause before the age of 40, even occur in women age 23 or 24 years. Approximately 1% of the entire population of women experience it.

Premature menopause can occur for several reasons. The most obvious is due to removal of the ovaries due to cancer or cysts. In some cases, women who undergo hysterectomi, although without removing the ovaries, may experience menopause. Why is that there has been no thorough explanation, but it may have something to do with the interruption of blood supply to the ovaries.

Other causes include viruses (especially goiter), diseases of auto-immune diseases (which interfere with natural immunity) such as certain thyroid disease or condition of the adrenal gland; chromosome disorders or genetic linkage (if a woman is experiencing premature menopause, usually the mother or grandmother also had experienced the same thing); then the chemotherapy or radiotherapy used to treat cancer.

However, according to Dr. Rodney Baber, head of Sydney's Royal Norh Shore Hospital Menopause Clinic, in most cases, the cause is unknown. Women are born with about 2-3 million eggs, which is the amount that would have owned, although only about 500 of them were diovulasikan (released monthly, fertilized or shed into menstruation). While the rest vanished without a specific reason undiscovered experts.

Whatever the cause, menopause symptoms can be exactly the same regardless of whether the women experience it at age 25 or 55. The symptoms for example, skin and vagina dries, insomnia, poor memory, night sweats, loss of sexual desire, and irritability. However, doctors still difficult to detect.

Premature Menopause Affect Cognitive Function

Published in the journal International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG), the study said, premature menopause can affect cognitive function. Premature menopause can occur because there is a variety of ovariectomy, the operation could lead to menopause, or loss of ovarian function non-operating (naturally).

4,868 women were sampled, has given cognitive tests and diagnostic tests senility regularly and periodically. The effects of the type of menopause, surgery and non-surgery, were also examined. Of the 4,868 women tested, non-surgical menopause occurs at 79%, while 10% are caused by menopause operations. Results showed, the ratio of women who went through menopause after 50 years, and those who experience premature menopause have a 40% higher risk of developing dementia in the future.

This was associated with a reduction in the maturity of verbal and visual memory, psychomotor speed also decrease by 35%. Although two different types of premature menopause (operating and non-operating), both remain associated with decreasing the risk of verbal maturity is two-fold.

Dr. Joanne Ryan, post-doctoral researcher from La Colombiere Hospital, Montpellier, said that if the two types of premature menopause does affect cognitive function, which can not be offset by menopausal therapy. Dr Joanne said, in terms of operating menopause, because the effects can affect cognitive function, there must think carefully in doing ovariectomy. Pierre Martin Hirsch (BJOG editor) added, by understanding the effects of premature menopause, you can benefit by using menopausal hormone therapy correctly.