Symptoms of early menopause

80% of women studied were affected

EIGHT out of 10 women experience early symptoms of menopause, research has found. Menopause occurs when a woman has her last period. For decades, menopause research has centred on this point, which happens in the average British woman at the age of 52.

As a result women, who still have monthly periods but experience other symptoms of the change, can find it difficult to get help.

The study found pre-menopausal women, in their forties and early fifties, experience a wide range of symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, pain and exhaustion.

For more than one in four, the symptoms are often severe but researchers found many of those are being ignored. This is despite the fact that providing women in the early stages of menopause with the necessary treatment is vital in reducing their risk of developing chronic illness.

Lifestyle changes and therapy could prevent conditions related to menopause, such as heart disease, developing later in life.

Lead author of the research, Dr Sioban Harlow, of the Centre for Mid-life Science at Michigan University, said: “We were surprised to find a quarter of women in this relatively healthy cohort reported a broad range of often severe symptoms prior to the onset of the menopausal transition.

“Importantly, we observed some women’s symptoms get worse while others improve as they transition through menopause, so this is a critical life phase for intervention.”

The phase is known as “pre-menopause” when women are still having regular periods but oestrogen and progesterone levels are decreasing.

The way in which some symptoms cluster together may suggest underlying mechanisms, such as inflammation, that put women at risk of disability and chronic disease. – Daily Mail