This paper presents a general overview of menopause. The paper begins with a definition of the term and then goes on to examine the literature on how menopause affects women and their lives. The pre-menopausal phase is are also discussed. The final section of the paper discusses hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and other treatment alternatives.
Johnson (2003) notes that menopause is the medical term for the end of menstruation which is technically defined as the lack of menstruation for a period of 12 months (in a row) due to a depletion of ovarian follicles (eggs); it is the point at which the ovaries no longer produce estrogen. In the United States, the average age of menopause is 51 years (Jean-Murat, 1999). However, every women is different and it is also natural for some women to experience menopause in their forties and for others to experience it in their sixties (Jean-Murat, 1999).
Paoletti and Wenger (2003) report that menopause can occur for reasons other than the aging process. These reasons can include: medical treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy (which can destroy the egg reserve); various illnesses or conditions such as thyroid disease, abnormalities of the pituitary gland, eating disorders, too little body fat or weight; or systemic conditions such as cancer.
In some cases, menopause can occur because a woman has a hysterectomy. Hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus. Haas and Puretz (2002) report that fibroids are responsible for up to 50 percent of the hysterectomies performed in the United States, and the number performed is staggering. More than 500,000 hysterectomies are performed each year in the US, which, according to the authors, is the highest rate among any nations with published data on this procedure. The extent, of a hysterectomy can vary from total (removal of uterus and cervix), to supracervical (removal of uterus and preservation of the cervix) to the bilateral salpi...