Menopause is generally considered to begin around the age of 50. But some women have to face early menopause before this age. Like early menopause, late menopause also affects your health.
Menopause is a normal process that all women go through. Menopause is considered to be a period of 12 months, in which menstruation becomes irregular and then periods stop. Menopause is generally considered to begin around the age of 50. But some women have to face early menopause before this age. Whereas there are some women who have very late menopause. This is called late menopause. Like early menopause, late menopause also affects your health in many ways. Therefore, it is important to know about it and be prepared to deal with these challenges. On World Menopause Day, let us know in detail about Late Menopause.
World Menopause Day 2024
October 18 is celebrated every year as World Menopause Day to raise awareness about menopause among women around the world. According to the International Menopause Society, the theme of World Menopause Day 2024 is “menopause hormone therapy”. This therapy is also called hormone replacement therapy, with the help of which the symptoms of menopause can be controlled with a combination of estrogen and progesterone.
Dr. Pooja Sharma, Senior Consultant Obstetrics and Gynecology, Daffodils by Artemis, East of Kailash, New Delhi, gave detailed information about this. He told that not having periods for 12 consecutive months is called menopause. This is a natural process occurring in the life of every woman. Menopause usually occurs at the age of 50 to 51 years. In case of removal of ovaries through surgery or in some other cases, these changes occur in the body even before age. Due to hormonal changes during menopause, many symptoms including acne, obesity, sweating and mood swings are seen in the body.
These habits affect the age of menopause
- According to NIH research, women who consume alcohol have menopause a little later than others.
- An association has also been found between the use of birth control pills and delayed menopause. According to experts, due to these pills, the symptoms of menopause do not appear very effectively. Women consuming non-vegetarian diet are likely to have late menopause.
- Excessive intake of vitamin B6 and zinc and excessive consumption of oily fish or fresh vegetables can cause a delay of six months to three years.
- Irregularities in eating habits cause this problem. Women who smoke excessively and consume carbohydrates like refined pasta and rice can cause early menopause.
There are some risk factors of late menopause (Risk factors of late menopause)
1. Genetics
The first risk factor is considered to be genetics. According to the National Institute of Health, genetic reasons are also seen behind late menopause. If the mother has delayed menopause, it increases the chances of the daughter also having late menopause. Half of the cases of irregularities in late menopause are found to be related to genetics.
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2. Estrogen levels
In such a situation, the level of estrogen hormone in the body starts decreasing. This is the reason why obese women are likely to have late menopause. Actually, fat tissues produce and store estrogen. This takes time for estrogen levels to decline and menopause is delayed. Late menopause is not uncommon in obese women, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders. This is because fats start producing estrogen.
3. Late onset of periods
Women who have had late onset of periods, often irregular periods, or have naturally high levels of estrogen in their bodies are also more likely to have delayed menopause.
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4. Late pregnancy
Menopause may also be delayed in women who become mothers at an older age. Actually, it takes time for the body to adjust to pregnancy and its subsequent conditions, hence one has to face late menopause.
Late menopause increases breast cancer risk
Dr. Pooja Sharma tells that the age and pattern of menopause is different in every woman. In some women, menopause does not occur even until the age of 55 to 60 years. Women who are taking HRT i.e. hormone replacement therapy have to face late menopause. Apart from this, excess of estrogen hormone leads to increase in obesity and also increases the risk of uterine and breast cancer.
If the level of estrogen increases in women after 40 years, then the chances of cancer also increases. Therefore, if there is a long delay in menopause, a doctor should be consulted. Also, if signs of menopause are seen after 55, then the risk of long-term knee pain, vaginal dryness and osteoporosis reduces in such women.