Menopause historical perspective: Difference between revisions
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
<big>Menopause is | <big>Menopause is the permanent cessation of the [[menstrual cycle]] in women because of deficiency production of estrogen hormone in women whose their ages average 50 years old and it is considered a natural end to fertility in women. Menopause is sometimes referred to as "the change of life" or climacteric. A woman is considered to reach menopause after a menstrual cycle was missed for 12 months and this is the time period that is termed as perimenopause, she become suffering from the typical menopausal symptoms whose intensity varies from woman to another. when a menstrual cycle is stopped for more than 12 months, a women is considered in postmenopause with persistence of the menopausal symptoms.<ref>Women to Women. (2011). Understanding what menopause is. Retrieved from http://www.womentowomen.com/menopause/postmenopausal.aspx/</ref>There are health problems related to menopause due to deficiency of estrogen, hormonal imbalance and changes in body composition. These changes lead to alterations in energy levels, memory, bone health, hormones, and heart health.<ref> Women's Health Concern. (2009).Focus on… Diet, nutrition and the menopause. Retrieved from http://www.womens-health-concern.org/help/focuson/focus_dietmenopause.html/</ref>Women in postmenopause are at an increased risk of diseases such as [[Osteoporosis (patient information)|osteoporosis]], [[Cardiovascular diseases|cardiovascular disease]], [[Overweight (patient information)|overweight]].<ref> Jean Hailes for Women's Health. (2012). Understanding what menopause is. Retrieved from http://www.managingmenopause.org.au/images/stories/Education/Documents/info/nutritional_tips.pdf/</ref></big> | ||
==Historical Perspective== | ==Historical Perspective== | ||
Revision as of 18:02, 16 July 2020
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Menopause is the permanent cessation of the menstrual cycle in women because of deficiency production of estrogen hormone in women whose their ages average 50 years old and it is considered a natural end to fertility in women. Menopause is sometimes referred to as "the change of life" or climacteric. A woman is considered to reach menopause after a menstrual cycle was missed for 12 months and this is the time period that is termed as perimenopause, she become suffering from the typical menopausal symptoms whose intensity varies from woman to another. when a menstrual cycle is stopped for more than 12 months, a women is considered in postmenopause with persistence of the menopausal symptoms.[1]There are health problems related to menopause due to deficiency of estrogen, hormonal imbalance and changes in body composition. These changes lead to alterations in energy levels, memory, bone health, hormones, and heart health.[2]Women in postmenopause are at an increased risk of diseases such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, overweight.[3]
Historical Perspective
- In the past, the studies on cessation of the menstrual cycle after 40 years of age in women was very rare, A French physician named the cessation of menstrual cycle as term of menopause in 1821.
- the medical interest in menopause started in mid-19th century, and therefore knew the menopause symptoms because deficiency of estrogen hormone and was treated of menopause symptoms by estrogen replacement therapy in 1970s and had been developed in 1938.
- International Menopause Society was founded in 1970s and the first international conference on menopause was organized in Paris, France in 1976.
- Symptomatically of menopause differs in different areas of the world e.g In West - hot flush, in Japan shoulder pain and in India low vision are the hallmarks of menopause. HRT use rate is high in West while it is low or negligible in countries like India. Age at menopause is also higher in West as compared to the range of 45-47 years in developing countries like India. Historically also a lower age at menopause was range documented in earlier times. This rose to the range of 50-51 years in the present era.
- Overall, women in western countries viewed menopause negatively contrasted with the positive outlook of women in developing countries like India.[4]
The possible significance of menopause in human evolution
The Grandmother hypothesis considers that the menopause may have been selected for in human evolution, because later life infertility could actually have conferred an evolutionary advantage by allowing older women to spend more time helping with the survival of their existing children and grandchildren.
Menopause in other species
Unlike humans, other mammals rarely experience menopause, but it does exist in some of the other few mammal species that experience menstrual cycles, such as rhesus monkeys[5] and some cetaceans.[6]
However, menopause exists in some other animals, many of which do not have monthly menstruation in this case, the term means a natural end to fertility.[7]
References
- ↑ Women to Women. (2011). Understanding what menopause is. Retrieved from http://www.womentowomen.com/menopause/postmenopausal.aspx/
- ↑ Women's Health Concern. (2009).Focus on… Diet, nutrition and the menopause. Retrieved from http://www.womens-health-concern.org/help/focuson/focus_dietmenopause.html/
- ↑ Jean Hailes for Women's Health. (2012). Understanding what menopause is. Retrieved from http://www.managingmenopause.org.au/images/stories/Education/Documents/info/nutritional_tips.pdf/
- ↑ Singh A, Kaur S, Walia I (2002). "A historical perspective on menopause and menopausal age". Bull Indian Inst Hist Med Hyderabad. 32 (2): 121–35. PMID 15981376.
- ↑ Walker ML (1995). "Menopause in female rhesus monkeys". Am J Primatol. 35: 59–71.
- ↑ McAuliffe K, Whitehead H (2005). "Eusociality, menopause and information in matrilineal whales". Trends Ecol Evolution. 20: 650.
- ↑ Walker ML, Herndon JG (2008). "Menopause in nonhuman primates?". Biol Reprod. 79 (3): 398–406. doi:10.1095/biolreprod.108.068536. PMC 2553520. PMID 18495681.