Early menopause
Also called: menopause before 45, premature ovarian failure
What it means
Early menopause is when a woman's periods stop before age 45, earlier than the usual age range for menopause.
Losing estrogen earlier than normal means your bones can lose protection sooner, raising the chance of bone loss over more years.
Early menopause means your periods stop before age 45, which is earlier than the typical range. If periods stop before age 40, it's called premature ovarian insufficiency. Both cause estrogen levels to drop sooner than usual, which matters because estrogen helps protect bone throughout adult life.
Because the body loses estrogen's protective effect earlier, bone loss can start sooner and add up over more years than it would with menopause at a typical age. Surgical removal of the ovaries before natural menopause causes an abrupt drop in estrogen rather than a gradual one, which can mean steeper bone loss right after surgery.
This is a situation where getting an early bone density check and discussing hormone options with your doctor are especially worthwhile, since the usual approach for later menopause may not fully apply here. Decisions about hormone therapy belong to you and your prescriber, but the conversation is worth having sooner rather than later. Weight-bearing and resistance exercise remain something fully within your control regardless of what else is decided.
Menopause before 45 means your bones lose estrogen's protection sooner, over more years.
Where this leads
WordEarly menopause has causes worth knowing. See how premature menopause and conditions behind it speed up bone loss.
Where the Academy teaches it
This page is the short version. The lessons teach it in full, with the context around it and a quiz to lock it in.
Related words
Premature menopause is when periods stop before about age 45, due to primary ovarian insufficiency, ovary removal,…
Surgical menopause is menopause caused by removing both ovaries, which stops estrogen production immediately instead…
Estrogen deficiency is a drop in estrogen levels — from menopause, ovary removal, or other causes — that speeds up…
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) replaces oestrogen, often with a progestin, after menopause and has been shown to…
Menopause is when your periods stop and estrogen levels drop sharply, which speeds up bone loss because the cells…
Bone mineral density (BMD) measures how much mineral is packed into your bones, usually estimated with a DEXA scan,…
Education only, not medical advice. Decisions about tests, medications and treatment belong with your own doctor. OsteoStrong does not diagnose, treat or cure any disease.
