Menopause Causes

What Causes Menopause

Menopause is caused by a series of hormonal changes that naturally occur in a woman’s body. When a woman is born, her ovaries hold all of the eggs she will have for her entire lifetime, usually around 1 to 3 million eggs. Through each menstrual cycle and with each passing year, a woman loses eggs. By the time she hits menopause, she may have only 10,000 eggs left in her ovaries.

The primary hormones that are responsible for bringing about the changes of menopause are estrogen and progesterone. The amount of these two hormones circulating in the body drops over time and at some point, they drop enough so that menstruation stops.

The loss of estrogen is believed to play a large role in causing the symptoms of menopause.

Since menopause is a natural stage in a women’s life, there are not any risk factors associated with it but radiation therapy, chemotherapy or removal of the ovaries earlier in life can trigger early menopause.

Menopause does impact other organs and systems of the women’s body. For instance, estrogen affects the function of the heart vessels as well as the reproductive organs. As estrogen decreases, a woman’s risk for heart disease increases. In addition, the rapid loss of bone density during this time increases risk of osteoporosis. The loss of elasticity in the tissues of the vagina and urethra increases risk for urinary incontinence and the slowing down of metabolism can lead to weight gain.