Staying Aware of the Causes of Early Onset Menopause Can Help Alleviate Some of the Risks Involved
Early onset menopause is becoming more common each year. Women can control some of the causes, while others are unavoidable.
Some causes, such as smoking, eating disorders, and leaving infections untreated, can be avoided. Chemotherapy treatments and genetics may be more difficult to avoid.
Menopause is the permanent end of menstruation and fertility, and is defined as occurring 12 months after the end of the last menstrual period. The average age for menopause is 51; however, about 1 percent of women experience menopause before the age of 40. Some women even experience this as early as their teens. This is what is referred to as early onset menopause. Early onset menopause is becoming more prevalent each year.
Premature menopause can lead to other health issues. Osteoporosis and heart disease are two of the biggest changes that can start to happen right after menopause. Avoiding menopause for as long as possible can keep women healthier longer. Some of the main causes of early onset menopause include medical advancements, illness, genetics, and exposure to toxins.
It’s kind of odd to think that advancements in medicine could actually be harmful to your body, but it’s true. Cancer treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy, while they save lives, can also cause a woman’s reproductive organs to lo longer function properly, thus, sending them into early onset menopause.
Radiation therapy is very site specific, so if the reproductive organs themselves are not receiving radiation, there should be no problems. If they are being directly treated, this could cause some problems.
As for chemotherapy, it depends on your age and the intensity of the treatments. The younger you are when undergoing chemotherapy treatments, the better your chances are still having productive ovaries. The older you are, the more likely you are to have permanent menopause. The stronger the treatments are, the more likely you are to lose ovarian function as well.
Losing ovarian function does not necessarily mean that you will never regain it. Early onset menopause that has been brought on by chemotherapy can be temporary, and your ability to get pregnant does sometimes return after a few months.
Another medical procedure that causes early onset menopause is a hysterectomy with ovary conservation. Even thought the ovaries are left alone, this can still send the body into menopause an average of 3.7 years early. This is because the procedure damages the blood supply to the ovaries.
There are a number of illnesses that can cause early onset menopause. Autoimmune disorders, thyroid disease, eating disorders, viral infections, and diabetes have all been linked with early onset menopause. These illnesses cause a hormone imbalance in the body, which can trigger menopause.
Anorexia, bulimia, and morbid obesity can cause temporary menopause because of the hormone changes and strain that they put on the body. However, these cases of temporary menopause can easily turn into permanent premature menopause. This can even affect girls who are still in their teens.
Some infections can also cause early menopause. Having mumps early in childhood has been known to damage the ovaries causing early menopause in some women. Sometimes, severe pelvic infections, usually stemming from untreated STDs, can damage the ovaries so badly that they are rendered useless.
Genetics can also play a part in early onset menopause. Some women are born with genetic abnormalities caused by incomplete chromosomes. One of the side effects of this can be premature menopause.
In recent years, it has been said that toxins, such as pesticides and cigarette smoke, are causes of early menopause too. According to a Reuters Health study, “Women who smoke are more likely to begin menopause before the age of 45 years, which puts them at increased risk of osteoporosis and heart disease.” This study also states that smokers who quit 10 years before menopause still have the opportunity to undo the damage. Other toxins like pesticides, herbicides, plastic, fuels, and cleaning supplies, have been known to damage the ovaries. These toxins contain endocrine disrupters which change the hormones and can lead to early menopause.
The list really does seem to go on and on. Every day new dangers come into our world, and old dangers that have been there all along, are brought to light. Something that everyone has, stress, has even been said to cause early onset menopause. Staying informed and making better choices for your life can help you avoid experiencing problems that come along with early onset menopause.
Category: Early Menopause, Menopause Diet
