Causes of Menopause

Menopause, in women, usually tends to occurs after the age of 40; which is natural due to aging. Right since the birth, a baby girl possesses fixed number of eggs that are stocked in the ovaries. These ovaries, in addition, produce estrogen and progesterone, which are the vital hormones controlling the menstruation cycles and ovulation. In later life, when these ovaries stop producing egg each month and that the menstrual cycle stops completely, a woman is said to enter her menopause stage.

The two main causes of menopause are the complex sequences of hormonal fluctuations and a decline in the amount of functioning eggs in the ovaries. We will now take a look on these natural causes of menopause.

• Natural Decline of Reproductive Hormones and OvulationAt birth, females possess some 1 to 3 million eggs that tend to vanish as the time passes by. When a girl obtains her first menstrual period, she is said to carry on an average some 400,000 eggs; while as menopause approaches her, she might be left with only 10,000 eggs. It has been found that a small amount of these eggs disappears via normal ovulation, the monthly cycle. Generally, Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH - a reproductive hormone) is the major substance produced by the pituitary gland, which is required for the maturity of the eggs during the first half of the menstrual cycle. As you get nearer to menopause, the left over eggs are not affected by FSH. With this, the ovaries are unable to produce estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in the required quantities.
  
  Both these hormones negatively affect your body parts and functions in a variety of ways when their levels reduce. Mostly, blood vessels, heart, bone, breasts, uterus, urinary system, skin, and brain are affected leading to any of the 34 symptoms of menopause.
  
  However, if this happens naturally, a woman passes through the different stages of menopause - perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. But, sometimes, women can experience menopause before time due to a surgery such as hysterectomy or damage to the ovaries via chemotherapy. So, menopause can be induced in women. We will now look at the induced causes of menopause.
• Premature Ovarian Failure/Primary Ovarian Insufficiency We know that it is the ovaries that generate both estrogen and progesterone. For some unknown cause (not natural), the ovaries in advance might stop producing eggs. This leads to the changes in the production amounts of these two hormones. And if this happens prior to the age of 40, it is regarded as the premature ovarian failure leading to premature menopause.
• Hysterectomy A complete hysterectomy is described as removal of the uterus, fallopian tubes, and one or both ovaries. Obviously, as the source of the hormonal production is removed, there will be a sudden cessation in the hormone levels leading to early menopause signs. Such a surgery is done to treat reproductive system cancers (uterine, cervical, ovarian) or tumors, severe and intractable endometriosis (growth of the uterine lining outside the uterine cavity), and adenomyosis (a form of endometriosis). The average start age of menopause for the women who have undergone hysterectomy is 3.7 years earlier as compared to those women in whom the ovaries are preserved.
• OophorectomySometimes, only the ovaries are removed via a surgery to treat medical conditions like uterine cancer or endometriosis. This is called oophorectomy inviting menopause before time. This type of surgery acts as a treatment against ovarian, uterine, and vaginal cancers. So, if you are suffering from such a disease whose treatment involves the removal of ovaries, you will face menopause much earlier than the normal time.
• Chemotherapy and Radiation TherapyOne of the major causes of menopause that has been induced is the damage done to the ovaries due to radiation or chemotherapy. This damage happens due to the medications used in chemotherapy and radiation treatments. Kindly note this in mind that the damage caused to ovaries due to these two cannot be made reversible. Chemotherapy is required when you are suffering from any type of cancer such as breast cancer. So, during the treat breast cancer treatment, it has been noticed that nearly 50% of women, despite the fact that they have not entered their menopause, experience menopausal symptoms. Next, the radiation therapy to the pelvis has high potential to damage the ovaries to put you into early menopause. If you are young, menstrual periods might still sustain, but if you are above 40, you might not see them at all.