Many women suffer from menopause symptoms for years, such as night sweats, mood swings and new aches and pains, and ask: when will they end?
The answer is not a single number. It depends on how we understand menopause, which can be either "one day" or "for life".
اضافة اعلان
Three answers to one question
The first answer: one dayTechnically, the term "menopause" refers to just one day: the day that marks 12 months since a woman's last period. As a woman ages, the communication between two hormones that act on the ovaries, FSH and LH, becomes disrupted, along with other hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle, such as oestrogen.
Hormones fluctuate in midlife. Oestrogen falls and FSH rises, causing symptoms such as hot flushes. When the ovaries stop producing hormones, ovulation ceases, and the last period occurs.
The average age of menopause is usually 51, but most women go through the "perimenopause" transition between the ages of 45 and 55. Early menopause refers to it occurring between 40 and 45, while premature menopause, before the age of 40, requires medical consultation.
The second answer: it depends on the person
Although menopause is technically one day, symptoms can begin ten years earlier or continue after it. Many people treat the three stages together: perimenopause, the day of menopause, and postmenopause.
On average, women experience symptoms for around seven years, but there is considerable variation between women, and no fixed rule for when they end. Some women notice changes in their periods in their early forties, others may start in their thirties and continue for years, while some only experience symptoms close to their last period, and others continue to have them long after. Some symptoms, such as reduced bone density, only show up on medical imaging.
Symptoms and the factors that affect their severity
Symptoms usually appear in clusters. The most common are hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog, mood swings and sleep disturbances. Up to 95% of women experience cognitive symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, while up to 60% experience insomnia.
There are less commonly discussed symptoms too, such as vaginal dryness, itching and changes in sensitivity, weight gain around the abdomen, joint pain, and loss of muscle mass. Some factors make symptoms more severe, including smoking, lack of physical activity and excess weight. Genes also play a role: differences in oestrogen receptor genes affect how intense hot flushes and night sweats are.
Symptoms range from mild for some women to severe, affecting daily life for others. Women who experience them should consult a doctor.
The third answer: they may last for life
Oestrogen affects the whole body, not only the ovaries, so the effects of its decline may last a lifetime. After menopause, the risks of dementia, osteoporosis and heart disease rise, and may be higher in women who went through early or premature menopause.
Research has shown that inflammation increases in many women after menopause, which speeds up tissue ageing and raises the risk of disease. As average life expectancy rises, a woman may live up to half her life after menopause. This is why healthy choices, such as good nutrition, better sleep and regular exercise, including strength training, make a real difference to health after menopause.
Source: Al-Ghad.
