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Understanding menopause and its symptoms

Understanding menopause and its symptoms

What is menopause?

Menopause is a natural phase of life when your menstrual cycle stops due to declining hormone levels. It’s officially determined 12 consecutive months after your final menstrual period, usually between the ages of 40 and 58, but the average age is 51.1-3

What is perimenopause?

Perimenopause is when you start experiencing menopause symptoms before your period ends. This can happen up to 10 years before your menopause even begins. Over time, oestrogen levels decline and menstrual periods stop.3-5

Menopause affects everyone in different ways

Menopause affects everyone in different ways

Each woman is unique and so are their symptoms. All kinds of factors impact the menopause experience, including medical conditions, race, ethnicity, and mental wellness.6,7

What are the signs and symptoms of menopause?

What are the signs and symptoms of menopause?
What are the signs and symptoms of menopause?

References:

  1. Thurston RC. Menopause. In: Crandall CJ, Bachman GA, Faubion SS, et al., eds. Menopause Practice: A Clinician's Guide. 6th ed. Pepper Pike, OH: North American Menopause Society, 2019;1-21.
  2. Padilla SL, Johnson CW, Barker FD, Patterson MA, Palmiter RD. A neural circuit underlying the generation of hot flushes. Cell Rep 2018;24(2):271-277.
  3. What is menopause? The Menopause Charity. https://www.themenopausecharity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/What-is-menopause_.pdf Accessed July 07, 2023.
  4. Jones RE, Lopez KH. Reproductive aging. In: Human Reproduction Biology. 4th ed. London, UK: Academic Press, 2013;119-131.
  5. Avis NE, Crawford SL, Greendale G, et al. Duration of menopausal vasomotor symptoms over the menopause transition. JAMA Intern Med 2015;175(4):531-539.
  6. Richard-Davis G, Wellons M. Racial and ethnic differences in the physiology and clinical symptoms of menopause. Semin Reprod Med 2013;31(5):380-386.
  7. Monteleone P, Mascagni G, Giannini A, Genazzani AR, Simoncini T. Symptoms of menopause - global prevalence, physiology and implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol 2018;14(4):199-215.
  8. Thurston RC. Vasomotor symptoms. In: Crandall CJ, Bachman GA, Faubion SS, et al., eds. Menopause Practice: A Clinician's Guide. 6th ed. Pepper Pike, OH: North American Menopause Society, 2019;43-55.
  9. Kaunitz AM, Manson JE. Management of menopausal symptoms. Obstet Gynecol 2015;126(4):859-876.