Menopause strips about 30 percent of skin collagen within five years
Menopause is officially diagnosed only in hindsight, after a full year without a period. Its effects reach far beyond the reproductive system. Falling hormone levels bring hot flushes, disrupted sleep and mood changes, but also bone loss, shifts in body fat and cholesterol, and the loss of roughly 30 percent of the skin's collagen.
Menopause marks the permanent end of menstrual periods and of the reproductive phase in women. The transition unfolds in three stages: perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause. Natural menopause happens as the ovaries make less oestrogen and progesterone, usually between the ages of 45 and 55. Timing varies: smoking is linked to an earlier onset, while having been pregnant is associated with a later one. Surgery that removes both ovaries causes it abruptly, and some chemotherapy can also trigger it. Losing ovarian function before 40 is called premature ovarian insufficiency.
Before periods stop, they typically become irregular, longer or shorter, lighter or heavier. Hot flushes are the hallmark symptom, lasting anywhere from 30 seconds to ten minutes, sometimes with shivering, night sweats and flushed skin, and they can keep returning for four to five years. Other common experiences include vaginal dryness, urinary urgency, poor sleep, joint pain and mood swings, with severity differing widely between women.
The longer-term physical changes matter too. Bone density falls, fat collects around the abdomen, cholesterol profiles and blood vessel function worsen, and together these raise the risk of osteoporosis, fractures, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A woman whose uterus has been removed but whose ovaries still work is not considered menopausal, although her symptoms often begin earlier.
Medical training has lagged behind. A 2023 survey found that fewer than a third of obstetrics and gynaecology residency programmes offered a standard menopause curriculum, which can lead to symptoms being treated piecemeal rather than recognised as part of one transition. Menopausal hormone therapy is described as effective for symptoms and bone protection, and many worries raised by older studies are no longer seen as barriers for healthy women; non-hormonal options also exist. As of 2021, there was little evidence that herbal supplements work, though research continues.
Source: Menopause
