DOSSIER

  21/11/2023 | Jeanne NATHALIE & Pascale Pommier de Santi

Ladies, as you know, your body is far more complex than a man’s, due to the frequent changes in your hormonal cycles.

Shorter cycles during perimenopause
The typical cycle between two periods lasts 28 days, with variations from 25 to 32 days. But when perimenopause begins, the rhythm changes and becomes more irregular, with cycles shortening to 21–24 days, or even less. Later, these cycles become longer before stopping altogether with menopause. Generally, from the age of 45–47, the first symptoms of perimenopause appear: periods often become heavier. Around age 50, the sharp drop in estrogen production leads to the end of menstruation. However, your ovaries continue to secrete estrogen until around age 65.

Factors of early menopause
The average age of menopause varies from one woman to another depending on lifestyle. Very low body weight or frequent weight fluctuations due to repeated dieting can trigger menopause early, around age 40. Genetic factors may also play a role, as well as environmental causes such as smoking. It is important to distinguish early menopause, which is irreversible, from amenorrhea, which is reversible and caused by hormonal imbalance.

To determine this, an assessment of ovarian reserve must be carried out through ultrasound or FSH testing — the hormones that stimulate egg production — to estimate the number of remaining follicles. Depending on the diagnosis, the treatments will obviously differ.

  Jeanne NATHALIE & Pascale Pommier de Santi

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Ladies, as you know, your body is far more complex than a man’s, due to the frequent changes in your hormonal cycles. Shorter cycles during perimenopaus