Study Finds Menopause Symptoms Can Be PredictedThe number of eggs left in a woman's ovaries are like the grains of sand in an hourglass, ticking away the hours on her biological clock.Researchers now say they may be able to predict when that clock will wind down. And while doctors can't actually count the number of eggs in an ovary, they can measure ovarian volume. British researchers say there's a direct correlation between the two, and by measuring ovarian volume with transvaginal ultrasound, doctors should be able to predict when menopause will set in and how many fertile years a woman has left. According to the study authors, this information will revolutionize the care of women looking for assisted reproductive technologies, including those who were treated for childhood cancers as well as women who want to put off starting a family for whatever reason. Although information still needs to be validated in clinical studies, its benefit is most likely to start with women who are being treated for cancer and women attending fertility clinics, said Tom Kelsey, co-author of the study appearing June 17 in the journal Human Reproduction. "If women looking for some sort of assisted conception and their physicians know that they've got a long time till menopause, then you could plan for a range of treatments," said Kelsey, who is a senior research fellow at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. "If you knew menopause was likely in four to five years, you'd plan a different set of IVF [in vitro fertilization] treatments." Others reiterate, however, that the findings should be treated with caution. "Should a young woman who is 30 years old go for a test to figure out whether she's got three, five or 10 years left on her fertility? Should she make career decisions and life decisions? Are these data good enough to make those determinations?" asked Dr. Alan Copperman, director of reproductive medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "The answer is obviously no to all of those questions. The predictive value of this test is not good enough to go and tell someone to change their life." According to the article, eggs form in a female's ovary while she is still in the womb, peaking at several million about halfway through gestation and then starting a continuous decline. At birth, there are several hundred thousand and, when menstruation begins, about 300,000. At about age 37, a woman has about 25,000 eggs left, and at menopause only about 1,000. The time at which menopause sets in is widely believed to be based on the number of eggs reaching a critically low threshold. The authors of this study measured ovarian volume with transvaginal ultrasound, then looked at the relationship between ovarian volume -- ovaries shrink as a woman ages -- and number of eggs. They then applied mathematical and computer models to predict menopause. The study authors are negotiating with a medical school to set up clinical trials. The idea would be to follow women to see if their predictions were indeed correct. While these authors have come up with a tool to potentially help women plan their lives, a second study in the same issue of Human Reproduction warned that women might not want to leave it too late. Assisted reproductive technology (ART) could not be relied upon to fully compensate for lack of natural fertility after the age of 35, the article stated. The authors used a computer simulation model to determine that the overall success rate of assisted reproductive technology would be 30 percent for those attempting to get pregnant from age 30, 24 percent for those trying from age 35, and 17 percent from age 40. SOURCES: Tom Kelsey, Ph.D., senior research fellow, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Scotland; Alan Copperman, M.D., director, reproductive medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York; June 17, 2004, Human Reproduction |
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Cigarette Smoking and Early Menopause Cigarette Smoking and Early Menopause. Herschel Jick, MD. Full text. Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Introduction One factor that definitely influences the age of menopause is cigarette smoking. Smokers, and even former smokers, can experience menopause up to three andhracafe.com - Smoking may cause early menopause Smoking may cause early menopause - London, July 23 (IANS) Regular smoking can lead to early onset of menopause, Norwegian scientists say. Maturitas : Alcohol, caffeine and smoking in relation to age at Among women who stopped smoking before the LMP, median age at menopause was . 6 R.A. Hiatt and B.H. Fireman, Smoking, menopause, and breast cancer, Relieving menopausal symptoms naturally Smoking is unhealthy for anyone but it's even more so for the menopausal or peri-menopausal woman. Smoking can cause an early onset of menopause and can Smoking's Effect on the Menopause Clock - Journal Watch Women's Health Smoking and early menopause are among the risk factors for osteoporosis and ischemic heart disease. In a cross-sectional study of more than 2000 women (age Study: Anxiety, smoking, body weight may worsen menopause symptoms As Paris Hilton might say, when it comes to your health, smoking, being overweight, and feeling stressed are not. BioMed Central | Full text | Early menopause, association with Current smoking was significantly associated with early menopause (adj. . Association between early menopause and smoking and intake of coffee and BioMed Central | Abstract | Early menopause, association with These data suggest a possible dose-response relationship between total exposure to smoking and early menopause, but no dose-response relationship was Smoking 'brings on an early menopause' | the Daily Mail 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, Women's Web --- Menopause There appears to be a link between smoking and menopause. Smokers and even ex-smokers can experience menopause up to three years earlier than women who have Smoking hastens menopause Women who smoke are more likely to go through an early menopause, research has found. They are also damaging their fertility and, therefore, their chances Smoking: Women's Health Perspective Beginning to smoke as a teenager increases a woman's risk of early menopause three times. Smokers often notice symptoms of menopause two to three years Early Menopause Linked to Smoking Writing in the British medical journal The Lancet, the researchers suggested two possible mechanisms for the link between smoking and menopause. the Scoop on Smoking :: early menopause Sometime during middle age, women stop having menstrual periods permanently. This is called menopause. Smokers reach menopause earlier than nonsmokers do. Smoking Triggers Earlier Menopause 07/16/01 Excerpts from: Study: Smoking likely to trigger earlier menopause who smoke undergo menopause earlier, and we've correlated this with exposure to a Menopause If you smoke you should now stop, smoking can make menopause symptoms worse and increase the loss of bone density. The menopause can can be relieved with July 20, 2001 New study tightens link between smoking and menopause Smoking can lead to premature ovarian failure, or early menopause, according to a new study by MGH researchers. The work, published in the August issue of |
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