Menopause Prediction in Relation to Menarche

Menopause is the time of a woman's life when her menstrual cycle ceases, whereas menarche is the time of the start of menstruation. Studies have suggested that menarche and menopause are partially controlled by genes, but no one has been able to show that the age at which a girl starts having menstrual periods offers a prediction as to the age a woman's menopause will begin.

Menopause

• The average age of menopause is 50, but the exact age can range from 45 to 55 years of age. A gradual transition phase known as perimenopause, meaning "around menopause," is different for each woman. For some women this can be a difficult transition and may include symptoms such as: irregular cycles, heavy periods, hot flashes, heart palpitations, vaginal dryness, irritability, depression and intermittent memory loss. In the perimenopausal phase, some women experience abnormal bleeding patterns until their periods stop completely. Once a woman's period has not been present for a 12 consecutive months, and there are no medical reasons for her menses to stop, this is considered the beginning of natural menopause.

Menarche

• Puberty

  Menarche is the term used to describe the time when a girl starts her period. For most girls this occurs two to four years after the first signs of puberty, usually when a girl is between 12 and 13 years of age. The age at which periods begin can range between eight and sixteen, and the onset is influenced by genetic and environmental factors.

Mothers and Daughters

• Mother and Daughter

  Early or late menarche may run in families, although better health care and nutrition are making it more difficult to establish this connection. Girls are starting puberty and having their first periods at a younger age than girls did a century ago, in part because people are healthier and more well-nourished, in part because of exposure to different environmental influences. Many girls start their periods at the same age their mothers started menstruating, and it is not unusual for daughters to experience menopause at around the same age that their mothers did.

Research

• Woman Studying

  The Women's Genome Study at Harvard School of Public Health's Department of Epidemiology, presented extensive research about the relationship between the age of menarche and the age of menopause. Reporting on results, Chunyan He, a doctoral student and the lead author, discussed the fact that early menarche and later menopause are risk factors for the development of breast cancer and endometrial cancer, and that early menopause increases risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Dr. He wrote that, "Insights into the genetic factors influencing the timing of menarche and natural menopause might shed light on normal reproductive function and the prevention of the diseases associated with these two traits."

Menopause Prediction

• There is no single diagnostic method to predict when a woman will begin menopause. Despite efforts by researchers to find a connection, early menarche (first period) seems not to be related to early onset of menopause. While many studies have shown relationships between menarche and menopause, no research has established that the age at which a woman starts menstruating will predict the age at which she will experience the onset of menopause.