Women's Reproductive Health Flashcards
How do gynaecological conditions affect menopause?
Treatment may include hormonal medication
and/or gynaecological surgery
- Some invasive treatments may result in immediate (surgical) menopause
What is the transition to menopause described as?
Perimenopause.
What can increase during perimenopause?
Ovulation disturbances (e.g., anovulation)
Define ‘anovulation’.
When an egg (ovum) doesn’t release from your ovary during your menstrual cycle.
Describe the usual trend of perimenopause.
Ovarian hormone production fluctuates and then declines.
What is the median age of perimenopause?
47.5 years
How much longer can the symptoms go on for after menopause?
Up to 10 years after
At what age does menopause usually occur at?
50
What is early menopause?
Menopause experienced between the ages 40 and 44.
What is premature menopause?
Menopause experienced before the age of 40.
How is natural menopause before 45 linked to later life risks?
- An increased risk of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes
- Premature decline in cognitive function
- Decreased life expectancy
- Increased all-cause mortality
What is the proportion of women affected by early menopause (EM)?
1 in 10 women are affected by EM.
How does SEP affect menopause?
Disadvantaged childhood SEP is consistently associated
with earlier menopause age.
What is the result of smoking during pregnancy with menopause?
Smoking during pregnancy may affect the ovarian follicle pool by suppressing the development of
follicles or by damaging them.
What can the timing of menopause be determined by?
The lifetime number of ovulatory cycles (when an egg is released from the ovaries).
How does breastfeeding at birth affect menopause?
Women who were breastfed one month or less were more likely to undergo EM.
What adult behavioural factors are associated with EM?
- Smoking is positively correlated with EM
- Regular exercise and moderate frequency of alcohol drinking in women’s early thirties are associated with reduced risk of EM.
Why is it important to identify the effect of EM and menopausal symptoms on the time women
spend in employment through to age 55?
Can guide workplace policies or practices to improve
women’s working lives.
What data is collected to analyse the effect of menopausal symptoms on employment?
- Information on menstrual periods collected at age 44/45, 50 and 55 in the NCDS
- Information on menopause symptoms (in the past 12
months) and their intensity collected at age 50 - Employment activity for a period of 35 years (from age 20 to age 55) derived using work history data
How does EM affect women in employment?
EM reduces months spent in employment by 9% (equivalent to a loss of around 4 months) once women
enter their 50s compared with women who do not experience EM.
Is EM associated with differences in full-time employment rates?
No.
How does the number of symptoms affect the employment rate?
- Each additional symptom lowers employment
rates and FT rates by around half a percentage
point - These effects are larger for bothersome symptoms
- Not all symptoms have the same effects
- Psychological problems are associated with the
biggest employment effects
