What is Early Menopause?

Early menopause is when a woman stops menstruating before her 50s. A woman who does not menstruate for about 1 year is considered to be in menopause and 1% of women go through early menopause. In women experiencing early menopause, the secretion of the hormone estrogen decreases and FSH and LH hormone levels increase. Menopause can be detected with a few blood tests.

What Causes Early Menopause?

Family Story

The first factor that affects a woman’s age at menopause is the age at which her mother went through menopause. In other words, if there is a family history of menopause at a young age, the woman is more likely to go through menopause early.

Surgical Interventions

If a woman has both ovaries removed for whatever reason, early menopause occurs. However, the ovaries can also be damaged during gynecological interventions.

Autoimmune Diseases

One of the most common causes of menopause at a young age is autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune diseases are when the immune system recognizes its own organs as foreign tissue and attacks them. If the attacked organs are the ovaries, early menopause occurs.

Cancer

Radiotherapy or chemotherapy can cause damage to the ovaries and lead to early menopause.

Chromosome Disorders

Chromosome-related diseases such as Turner Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome can lead to early menopause.

Lifestyle

An unbalanced and unhealthy diet, stress, smoking and alcohol use also lead to early menopause.

What are the Symptoms of Early Menopause?

The first symptom of early menopause is more frequent menstruation. Normally, women menstruate every 28 days, and if menstruation occurs more frequently than 22 days, it usually indicates a depletion of the ovarian reserve. As menopause approaches, the number of periods decreases and after a while they stop completely.

In addition, vaginal dryness, sexual reluctance, sleep disorders and hot flashes are also among the symptoms of early menopause. If these symptoms are experienced, a gynecologist should be consulted.

Can Early Menopause be Prevented?

Early menopause is not a predictable problem, but it can be diagnosed early with regular medical examinations. Hormone tests (AMH, FSH, estradiol) are performed in the first days of your period and the ovaries are examined with a vaginal ultrasound. This gives an idea of the number of eggs that are susceptible to fertilization. The age of the patient affects the results of early menopause treatments. A young age is an advantage in early menopause treatment.

Risk Factors in Early Menopause

Although living with attention to risk factors is effective to some extent against early menopause, menopause and menopausal age in general is not a process that can be intervened. This is because menopause is caused by many factors. However, the first risk factor, genetics, does not necessarily mean that the person in question will also go through early menopause. There is only an increased genetic risk.

• Factors that can be considered to reduce the increased risk of early menopause are listed below:
• Fertility is an important factor in early menopause. A high number of births significantly postpones the menopause.
• Attention should be paid to nutrition and lifestyle. Especially a sedentary lifestyle is associated with a high likelihood of early menopause.
• Smoking also triggers early menopause.
• Weight balance is an important factor in early menopause. Very thin women have less adipose tissue and estrogen, which increases the likelihood of early menopause. Not only thinness but also obesity are among the important factors that increase the likelihood of early menopause.
• Environmental pollution, exposure to excessive radiation and living at high altitude are also risk factors for early menopause.
• In addition, regular use of birth control pills is known to postpone menopause.

Can I Get Pregnant in Early Menopause?

In vitro fertilization is recommended for patients who have a diminished ovarian reserve and want to have children. Egg freezing is recommended for single patients who do not want a pregnancy in the near future. In egg freezing, egg cells are produced by using drugs to enlarge the follicles and frozen by vitrification method. Thus, pregnancy can occur by using the eggs at the desired time.