Menopause: When appears and what factors influence

You can talk about menopause when one year has passed since the last rule without having had monthly bleeding. Therefore, this is a retrospective diagnosis, given the finding of one year of amenorrhea. As a general rule, menopause is usually around the age of fifty and is linked to the number of oocytes in the ovary.

According to the age in which it is present, there is a distinction between primary ovarian failure, early menopause and late menopause:- Primary ovarian failure : occurs before age 40. It used to be called precocious menopause.- Early menopause : occurs before age 45.- Late menopause : takes place after 55 years.Also, menopause can be natural or artificial:- Natural menopause: occurs gradually and progressively by the aging of the ovary.- Artificial menopause: is caused by surgical castration (removal of the ovary with or without hysterectomy), or by mechanisms that destroy germ cells such as radiation or chemotherapy.

Why does it appear in some patients before others?

The origin of the menopause lies in the follicular exhaustion of the ovaries and the factors that can influence their presentation, both individually and collectively, are multiple but not unanimously accepted by all specialists in Gynecology and Obstetrics who are dedicated to investigate the menopause. These include the following:- Inheritance : it is possible that there is a genetic factor, and that is why daughters frequently respond to the maternal model.- Age of menarche: old beliefs inversely relate the age of the first rule with the onset of menopause.- Level of life : The socioeconomic factor has an important value in the age of the menopause. This is delayed in women with a high economic level, although this variable is not important in the western countries of high development, for the equality and social balance achieved. For example, in the poorest areas of New Guinea the age at menopause is 43.6 years, while at the highest socioeconomic level, it occurs at 47.3 years.- Race: black women present menopause before, but also influences the socioeconomic level. It has been found that black women with a socioeconomic status identical to white women have menopause at the same age as white women.- Climate: women living in high altitudes - from 2,000 to 3,000 meters - present menopause before.- Inductors of ovulation : although there is still a lack of conclusive research, it seems that women undergoing these treatments should exhaust their follicular capital before, probably due to the very nature of the ovarian disorder, which requires the need for this medication.- Tobacco : is considered as a menopausal accelerator, and is in direct relation to the amount consumed.- Alcohol: its action on the endocrine system is multifactorial, depending on its acute or chronic effect, and also on the indirect actions dependent on the diseases it entails.- Gynecological Causes : Any gynecological pathology that causes the destruction of ovarian parenchyma may lead to an earlier presentation of menopause.- General diseases .- Surgery : Partial resections of one or both ovaries do not appear to have a demonstrable epidemiological influence on the onset of menopause.- Radiotherapy and chemotherapy