The Main Causes of Early Menopause

Women have a lot to think about with their health, and it can sometimes be overwhelming. Thinking through good health in the short term is hard enough, and therefore long term concerns are there but often harder to deal with. If you have concerns about what your health will be like later in life, then you may be in tune to the causes of early menopause. More than likely though you are so focused on protecting your health in the here and now, that you don’t even have the time to think of what could contribute to this.

If you are in your childbearing years then you are probably focused on pregnancy or getting your body back. The lifestyle that you lead now though can greatly impact what happens later in life with menopause. Though this is going to be different for everyone, there are some factors that may lead to going through this stage earlier than the norm. Though some can’t be helped, others certainly can and therefore some unhealthy choices now can become causes of early menopause later in life. So protecting your health now really does matter in the long term!

You may not be at risk of any of these, but it’s always good to be mindful of what plays into menopause coming about early. Understanding the risk factors and learning to create a healthy foundation is a great proactive way to let things to happen the way that they were intended to. Here are the most common contributing factors that you should think through in the present.

Family history: If you have a family history of early menopause, then there’s a greater likelihood that this could happen to you. Know when your mother and grandmother first got their period, and also how old they were when they went through menopause. It’s not to say that this is a certainty, but it most certainly plays into your likelihood. If there is some genetic tie to early menopause then be aware of this and do your best to create a healthy lifestyle to offset the potential risks that could come about with this process.

Obesity: The more weight that you are carrying around, the more strain this puts on the body. The higher that a woman’s Body Mass Index (BMI) is, the more likely that she will go through early menopause. So not only does obesity act as one of the potential causes of early menopause, but it may also contribute to related health problems later on such as heart disease or diabetes.

Smoking: Long term smoking may interfere with proper estrogen production in the body. In the long term this may mean that a woman goes through menopause several years earlier than she would have if she were not a regular smoker. This is why making changes now to improve your health really does matter!

Epilepsy: Since epilepsy interferes with the brain signals sent to the body, it has been found that it may also contribute to early menopause. It is much more likely for a woman who suffers from epilepsy, even if it is kept under control by medication, to go through early menopause than one who does not.

Chromosomal defects: One of the most notable causes of early menopause is a woman born with an incomplete chromosome. Though this may not present any problems in her health throughout her life, it may very well contribute to early symptoms and therefore early onset of menopause. Awareness of this can ensure that complications that could arise because of this are not a problem for her later in life.

If you are at risk of developing early menopause, learn more about hormone replacement therapy as a treatment option.