Average Age of Menopause Onset

According to the National Institute on Aging, the average age of menopause onset is around 51 years. Most women experience the onset of natural menopause between the ages of 45 to 55. But some women reach menopause much earlier or later. This is the date of the actual menopause — your last period. Of course, at the time, you can’t know that it’s your very last period. So medical science defines menopause as 12 months without a menstrual period where there are no other causes, such as pregnancy or illness, for this change.

Menopause is not like turning off a light switch — one minute you’re menstruating and the next you’re in menopause. It’s more like a dimmer switch: For several years before actual menopause, subtle changes in hormone levels occur, and symptoms may begin. These menopausal symptoms include both physical and emotional changes such as irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness and mood swings.

Three Ways to Reach Menopause Age

According to Dr. Christiane Northrup, M.D., author of The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change, women reach the age of menopause in three different ways:

• Natural Menopause
  Menopause is usually a natural biological process that marks the permanent end of menstruation and fertility in a woman. The average age of menopause onset is 51 when it occurs naturally.
• Premature Menopause
  Premature Menopause (now called “Premature Ovarian Failure”) occurs before the age of 40 years. Some women go through premature menopause naturally for no know reason or perhaps because of genetics. Or it can be caused by anorexia, bulimia, excessive athletic conditioning, malnourishment, autoimmune disease, obesity or some type of chronic stress.
• Artificial, Medical or Surgical Menopause
  Artificial Menopause is caused by a hysterectomy that removes both ovaries, some drugs, or treatments like chemotherapy or radiation for cancer. It can occur at any age. Because surgical menopause is instant menopause, it can cause more severe symptoms than natural menopause.

Factors Affecting the Age of Menopause Onset

The timing of natural menopause is driven by a combination of genetic, reproductive, and lifestyle factors which include:

• Genetics seems to be the most important factor. Women tend to go through menopause around the same age as their mothers and sisters.
• Studies suggest that Africans, African-Americans, and Hispanics of Mexican descent have an earlier average age of menopause than Caucasian women do, whereas Japanese-American women have a later natural menopause.
• Women who have had children have a significantly later menopause than women who have never had children.
• Current smokers usually experience the onset of menopause 1-2 years earlier than non-smokers.

But YOU Are NOT Average

Even though the average age for menopause onset is 51 years, you are not an average statistic. Your menopause is uniquely yours. There is no way to tell when it will start or how long it will last or what symptoms you will experience. Going through menopause is a little like driving on an unfamiliar, twisting road with an unclear destination. You’re not sure what’s happening, where you are going, or what’s coming next. In fact, you won’t realize you have reached your destination of menopause until you pass it and see it in your rearview mirror.

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