Early menopause is menopause that happens between ages 40 and 45. Often, it occurs for no clear reason, but now researchers are finding some factors can increase a woman’s risk of early menopause.
“I started having heart palpitations and chest pain and just weird heartbeats,” Kristy Nalder said.
For most women, menopause happens around age 51. But early menopause happens before age 45.
Often, surgery to remove the ovaries or uterus or cancer treatments are to blame. Smoking is another possible cause of the earlier change.
“Women who are smokers tend to hit menopause and experience menopausal symptoms a year or two earlier than those who go into menopause naturally,” said Dr. Camille Moreno with Family Medicine at the University of Utah.
A new review also found that women who don’t get enough vitamin D are one-third more likely to experience menopause before age 45. One theory is that vitamin D slows down the aging of the ovaries.
A woman’s family history and race also play a role in early menopause.
“Women of color tend to experience the menopausal transition earlier,” Moreno said. “They tend to have more bothersome and more severe quality of life symptoms and they suffer the longest.”
Other health conditions such as thyroid disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, chronic fatigue syndrome, infections, and HIV can increase the risk.
Treatment for early menopause typically involves taking hormone therapy to replace some of the hormones that are lost. Menopause at a younger age can increase a woman’s chances of developing conditions -- like heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, dementia, and Parkinson’s disease. There is one good thing about early menopause: the extra years without estrogen lowers a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.