Negative Effects on Early Menopause Health

Yeditepe University Hospitals Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated that the normal age of menopause is around 49-50. Menopause under the age of 40 "premature menopause “is defined as menopause under the age of 45 "early menopause’. The person should be treated in order not to have health problems. Experts have said the most curious things about the subject.

What Does Early Menopause Mean?

The normal age for menopause is around 51. According to the research conducted for our country, the age of menopause has been determined as 48-49. We call menopause under the age of 40 as “premature menopause” and its rate is 1% in Turkey. Menopause under the age of 45 is called "early menopause" and the incidence in Turkey is around 5 percent. In both cases, the patient needs to be treated.

In Which Situations Should You Suspect Early Menopause?

The most important criterion is not having any menstruation for six months. However, in cases where no menstruation is observed for three months and symptoms such as fever, distress, irritability, and sweating are added, we perform examinations in terms of ovarian functions. If a slowdown in ovarian functions appears in those examinations, early menopause is diagnosed.

How Does Early Menopause Affect Health?

The female body is programmed to need the hormone estrogen secreted by the ovaries until the age of 50. In women undergoing early menopause, problems such as cardiovascular diseases, aging of the skin, osteoporosis, aging of the urogenital system, vaginal dryness, pain during sexual intercourse, and sexual reluctance are observed due to estrogen deficiency. Therefore, hormone replacement therapy should be applied. Early treatment in early menopause is of great importance, especially in terms of preventing osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. If the patient comes 10 years after menopause with late menopausal complaints, we do not have a chance to start hormone therapy. Therefore, early diagnosis and early treatment increase the chance of success.

How Is Early Menopause Treated?

The goal here is to replace the hormones that women need until the age of 50. This replacement therapy is of great importance, especially since women under the age of 40 who enter menopause are at risk for health due to estrogen deficiency. This should not be seen as a treatment for menopause. During this period, external drugs are given to replace the hormones that the body  needs. The patient can stop the treatment after receiving hormone treatment and reaching the normal menopausal age by performing regular annual checks until the age of 50, or he can use the drug for about 5 more years if he wishes. In this case, it would be best to make the decision together with the physician. In studies that published results that menopause treatment had negative effects on cardiovascular diseases, patients who were given hormone therapy were in their 60s and their treatment started about 10 years after menopause. Today, in early menopause, it is known that early treatment is absolutely necessary and beneficial.