Abstract
Objective: To determine the frequency and causes of preterm ovarian failure (menopause before 40 years of age) and early menopause (menopause between 40 and 45 years). Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: Menopause clinics in Italy. Population: Women attending menopause clinics in Italy. Methods: Between 1997 and 1999 we conducted a large cross sectional study on the characteristics of women around menopause attending a network of first-level outpatient menopause clinics in Italy for general counselling about menopause or treatment of menopausal symptoms. Eligible for the study were all women aged 45-75 years consecutively observed for the first time at the participating centres on randomly selected days during the study period. Main outcome measure: Factors associated with preterm ovarian failure. Results: Out of 15,253 women aged 55 years or more with spontaneous menopause who entered the study, 269 (1.8%) reported preterm ovarian failure, and 1085 (7.1%) reported spontaneous menopause at age 40-45 years. The risk of preterm ovarian failure and of early menopause was higher in women reporting lifelong irregular menstrual cycles: in comparison with women reporting menopause at age z45 years, the OR (irregular vs regular mestrual cycles) of preterm ovarian failure was 1.3 (95% CI 1.0-1.7) and of early menopause of 1.2 (95% CI 1.0-1.5). Parous women reported less frequently preterm ovarian failure (x2 trend P <0.05) and early menopause (OR 0.8, 95% CI 0.7-1.0). No significant association emerged between risk of preterm ovarian failure or menopause at age 40 to
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 59-63 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology |
Volume | 110 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - Jan 1 2003 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology