Academic Journal
Age and diagnostic assessment of natural menopause in low-weight women.
| Τίτλος: | Age and diagnostic assessment of natural menopause in low-weight women. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Stockman SL; Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Ayinon CM; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Nawash B; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Desai N; University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Siegel LB; Neuroendocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Eljamri S; Neuroendocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA., Fazeli PK; Neuroendocrinology Unit, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. |
| Πηγή: | Climacteric : the journal of the International Menopause Society [Climacteric] 2026 Aug; Vol. 29 (4), pp. 564-570. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 Mar 16. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9810959 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1473-0804 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13697137 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Climacteric Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: London : Informa Healthcare Original Publication: New York : Parthenon Pub., c1998- |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Menopause*/blood , Menopause*/physiology , Body Mass Index*, Follicle Stimulating Hormone/blood ; Humans ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Body Weight |
| Περίληψη: | Objective: This study aimed to determine the age of natural menopause in low-weight women and assess how often laboratory evaluation confirms menopausal status. Method: A retrospective study was conducted of 3000 women aged >50 years with a history of body mass index (BMI) <18.5 kg/m2 seen at a large academic health system between 2004 and 2020. Women with indeterminate menopausal age, BMI ≥18.5 kg/m2 at menopause or known causes of early menopause were excluded. Clinical data including menopausal age, BMI, reproductive history and laboratory tests were extracted. Associations between BMI and menopausal age were analyzed using unadjusted and multivariable analyses controlling for tobacco use and age at menarche. Results: Among 239 women included, menopausal age correlated with BMI (ρ = 0.13, p = 0.04) and remained significant in multivariate regression (p = 0.02). Median menopausal age was 51 years for BMI 18.0 to <18.5 kg/m2, 50 years for BMI 17.0 to <18.0 kg/m2, 50 years for BMI 16.0 to <17.0 kg/m2 and 48 years for BMI <16.0 kg/m2. Only 30 women (12.6%) had postmenopausal follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) measured; 30% were below the diagnostic threshold for menopause (<25 mIU/ml). Conclusion: Low BMI is associated with earlier menopause. The substantial proportion of low-weight women classified as menopausal who had non-diagnostic FSH levels highlights the complexity of determining menopausal status and the potential for misclassification in this population. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Menopause; age at natural menopause; estrogen deficiency; hormone testing; low body weight; reproductive aging Local Abstract: [plain-language-summary] Menopause, when menstrual periods stop permanently due to loss of ovarian function, typically occurs around age 51 years. For most women over age 45 years, doctors diagnose menopause based on symptoms, without ordering blood tests. However, in women with low body weight, missed periods may not always mean menopause. Low body weight can cause hormonal changes that suppress menstrual cycles, a condition known as functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. Both menopause and this condition lead to low estrogen levels, which increases the risk of heart disease, bone loss, and other health problems if it occurs too early. Distinguishing between these conditions is important because treatment can differ: menopause is permanent, while hypothalamic amenorrhea can often be reversed with weight restoration. Reversal of the low estrogen levels in hypothalamic amenorrhea can potentially prevent associated negative outcomes. In this study, researchers reviewed records of 239 low-weight women over age 50 years. Women with lower body mass index (BMI) reached menopause earlier on average. However, only 13% had hormone testing to confirm menopause. Among those tested, nearly one-third did not have laboratory studies that confirmed menopause, raising the possibility that they may have been misclassified and not actually in menopause. These findings show that for low-weight women, relying only on menstrual history may overlook reversible causes of low estrogen and miss out on opportunities to prevent associated negative outcomes. |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 9002-68-0 (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260316 Date Completed: 20260818 Latest Revision: 20260818 |
| Update Code: | 20260818 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/13697137.2026.2631509 |
| PMID: | 41838388 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1473-0804 |
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| DOI: | 10.1080/13697137.2026.2631509 |