XML Feed for RxPG News   Add RxPG News Headlines to My Yahoo!   Javascript Syndication for RxPG News

Research Health World General
 
  Home
 
 Latest Research
 Cancer
 Psychiatry
 Genetics
 Surgery
 Aging
 Ophthalmology
 Gynaecology
  Infertility
  Menstruation Disturbances
 Neurosciences
 Pharmacology
 Cardiology
 Obstetrics
 Infectious Diseases
 Respiratory Medicine
 Pathology
 Endocrinology
 Immunology
 Nephrology
 Gastroenterology
 Biotechnology
 Radiology
 Dermatology
 Microbiology
 Haematology
 Dental
 ENT
 Environment
 Embryology
 Orthopedics
 Metabolism
 Anaethesia
 Paediatrics
 Public Health
 Urology
 Musculoskeletal
 Clinical Trials
 Physiology
 Biochemistry
 Cytology
 Traumatology
 Rheumatology
 
 Medical News
 Health
 Opinion
 Healthcare
 Professionals
 Launch
 Awards & Prizes
 
 Careers
 Medical
 Nursing
 Dental
 
 Special Topics
 Euthanasia
 Ethics
 Evolution
 Odd Medical News
 Feature
 
 World News
 Tsunami
 Epidemics
 Climate
 Business
Search

Last Updated: Nov 17th, 2006 - 22:35:04
Research Article
Human Reproduction

Gynaecology Channel
subscribe to Gynaecology newsletter

Latest Research : Gynaecology

   DISCUSS   |   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Menopause Age Influenced by Season of Birth
May 12, 2005, 17:37, Reviewed by: Dr.

A study of nearly 3,000 post-menopausal women showed that the earliest age of menopause was found in women born in March and the latest among those born in October. On average there was around 15 months' difference, with women born in October reaching menopause at over 50 years compared with under 49 years for women born in March.

 
Research by Italian experts on the menopause has found that that the month and the season in which a woman is born influence the age at which she reaches menopause.

A study of nearly 3,000 post-menopausal women showed that the earliest age of menopause was found in women born in March and the latest among those born in October. On average there was around 15 months' difference, with women born in October reaching menopause at over 50 years compared with under 49 years for women born in March.

Writing in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[1], lead author Dr Angelo Cagnacci said that the findings reinforced the concept that prenatal environmental factors affected a baby's adult life.

"Mothers should be aware of this, considering that during pregnancy they are going to influence, not only the health of the newborn, but also the health and reproductive life of their child during adulthood," he said.

The study, at four university hospitals (Bologna, Ferrara, Modena and Parma), was carried out on 2,822 women who were at least a year past the menopause. It found that the mean age of menopause was 49.42 � 49.04 for spring-born women and 49.97 for autumn-born women.

Dr Cagnacci, associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Modena, said that they had controlled for factors likely to interfere significantly with the findings, such as age of menarche, weight, smoking etc., and independently of all these factors the age at menopause was conditioned by the season of birth.

He conceded that there were some limitations to the study � a possibility of recall bias, and it involved women referred to menopause centres rather than the general population. Also, the effect of seasons may differ in different geographic areas.

"Nevertheless, the data seem to suggest notable effects of the month/season of birth on the length of a woman's fertile life, further supporting a role for environmental factors in regulating adult reproductive life and the timing of its termination."

It was not known which seasonal environmental factors were capable of influencing timing of menopause via an action exerted before birth, or even before conception. The study speculated that modifications of environmental temperature and sunlight may influence foetal growth and therefore future reproductive capabilities; seasonally linked diet modifications or exposure to infections were other possibilities. Before conception, seasonal environmental factors influencing ooctye maturation may contribute to the development of defective embryos and weak adults.

"Our present data seem to indicate that women born in autumn develop better during their prenatal life and are born with a higher number of oocytes than women born in spring," said Dr Cagnacci. "An alternative explanation may be that early mortality is highest among children born in autumn, thus selecting the fittest for survival, although other studies do not support this hypothesis."

He said the researchers' view was that a prolonged reproductive period with a later menopause was an index of higher embryo quality and ultimately, their quality was passed on to their offspring.

The next phase of the research was seeing whether the season of birth of the women in the study influenced their psychological profile � affecting their susceptibility to conditions such as anxiety and depression, for example. "Results so far seem promising," he said.

ABOUT MENOPAUSE FROM NIA

Menopause is a normal part of life. It is one step in a long, slow process of reproductive aging. For most women this process begins silently somewhere around age 40 when periods may start to be less regular. Declining levels of the hormones estrogen and progesterone cause changes in your periods. These hormones are important for keeping the vagina and uterus healthy as well as for normal menstrual cycles and for successful pregnancy. Estrogen also helps to keep bones healthy. It helps women keep good cholesterol levels in their blood.

Some types of surgery can bring on menopause. For instance, removal of your uterus (hysterectomy) will make your periods stop. When both ovaries are removed (oophorectomy), menopause symptoms may start right away, no matter what your age.
 

- [1] Season of birth influences the timing of menopause. Human Reproduction. doi:10.1093/humrep/dei040.
 

www.eshre.com

 
Subscribe to Gynaecology Newsletter
E-mail Address:

 

Human Reproduction is a monthly journal of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). ESHRE's website is: http://www.eshre.com

Related Gynaecology News

Treatment with hormones improves visual memory of postmenopausal women
Hormone therapy does not improve quality of life for women
How useful is the 'morning after' pill?
Ultra low-dose estrogen shown safe for post-menopausal women
Spermatogonial stem cells could aid male infertility
Gabapentin as effective as estrogen in treating hot flashes
To what extent can hot flashes in midlife women be considered a cause of chronic insomnia?
Dopamine agonist can prevent ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
CBT can restore ovulation in infertile women
New method of testing ova for abnormalities


For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 

© Copyright 2004 onwards by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited
Contact Us