Late-onset menopause lowers osteoporosis risks, but heightens the risks for certain cancers

Women experience heightened bone loss after menopause

Both women and men begin to lose some bone density after age 35, on average, but for the first decade after menopause women lose bone more rapidly due to the significantly decreased levels of estrogen, putting women at heightened risk of osteoporosis and related bone fractures.

Early menopause, occurring before age 45, can be triggered by certain risk factors

Some potential causes of early menopause include autoimmune disorders, chemotherapy, smoking, and certain surgeries that cause the body to produce lower levels of estrogen and progesterone.

Perimenopause can last as long as 8 years

Typically lasting around four years, beginning around age 45, some women experience it as early as their 30s. Smoking and thyroid disease are factors that can trigger early perimenopause. Early menopause, which can increase health risks, occurs in about 5% of women. Researchers are still investigating why it occurs.

This is what happens to your body during menopause

The menopause transition may begin in one's mid-40s with erratic periods and a decrease in estrogen. It can trigger health complications, including hot flashes, palpitations, and elevated risks of osteoporosis.

Postmenopause is a stage lasting roughly a third of a woman's life

Postmenopause is the final stage of menopause, occurring once a woman hasn't had any bleeding for a full year. She is then considered postmenopausal for the rest of her life. While some of the intense symptoms she might experience during perimenopausal will decline, her risk for certain conditions and diseases will increase.

The gaps in menopause research and their effects

Nearly all studies (99%) researching the biology of aging don’t consider menopause in their setup. A Harvard professor noted that about 75% of aging-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause. In this article, she discusses how gaps in research are negatively impacting how the medical system can effectively treat aging women. Read her analysis of the issue here.

By 2030, roughly 6% of the world's population will be in menopause

An estimated 25 million women pass through menopause annually, with a projected increase in the number of women in menopause in both lower-resource and higher-income populations in the years ahead, highlighting the social and economic value of focusing on menopause care.

It's never too late to start hormone replacement therapy for menopause symptoms

This board-certified gynecologist discusses how it's ideal to start estradiol as soon as possible after menopause to maximize its benefits, but that if older women have healthy hearts they can still start these medications later, in consultation with their doctors, and the products could be useful if women are continuing to suffer from symptoms of menopause or want to fight bone loss.

Health problems are being misdiagnosed as perimenopause symptoms

Symptoms of menopause and perimenopause (the premenopause period) can be varied enough that clinicians dismiss them in patients in their mid-30s and onward as just a symptom of hormone level change. In this story, a woman's itching was dismissed as a hormonal change, but after two years and 11 separate doctor consultations, was diagnosed as cancer. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

27% of US menopausal women used estrogen in 1999, but by 2020 that number was under 5%

The fallout of studies in the early 2000s linking hormone therapy for menopause and elevated cancer, stroke, and other health risks meant that even decades later—yet before the FDA removed its black box warning in 2025—use of HRT remained extremely uncommon. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Treatment-induced menopause is menopause induced by surgery or medicine

Chemotherapy and radiation, as well as oophorectomy (a surgical procedure that removes the ovaries) and a radical hysterectomy can cause a woman to become menopausal. Women that go through medical menopause experience the same symptoms as women that experience menopause caused by natural hormonal cycles.

Resistance training can help fight osteoporosis, especially in menopausal women

Weight-bearing training that pulls on bones, joints, and muscles can strengthen bone health. Movements like squats, rows, shoulder and chest presses, and push-ups can be started at any age (if you don't already have advanced bone loss), though ideally they should be started earlier—in one's teens or young adulthood—to stave off bone density losses that begin in your 30s.

Menopause can exacerbate anxiety

Some research shows that menopause can fuel anxiety and also that pre-existing anxiety can boost the chances of experiencing other menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, insomnia, and brain fog. But treatments including hormone replacement therapy, breathing exercises, and other forms of exercise can alleviate some of these symptoms.

'Menobelly' is real, with more fat stored around the abdomen as estrogen levels drop

The way fat is carried in the body shifts with menopause, with those pounds increasingly settling around the abdomen instead of the hips and thighs. Exacerbating this phenomenon, muscle mass also begins to decline, so calories stick around longer than usual. Resistance training, including push-ups and planks, alongside a heavier protein diet can help.

Menopause, once not discussed in polite company, is now a plot point in some television shows

Menopause has long been a topic left out of film and TV. But some shows, like "The Change," and celebrities, like Jennie Garth, are now openly talking about it. This article breaks down how Hollywood is starting to come around to the menopause conversation and how celebrities are talking about their own personal experiences, as well as advocating on Capitol Hill.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Girls are hitting puberty earlier than ever before

Around the world, there has been a spike in children—especially girls—experiencing early puberty and doctors are seeking to understand why. The rise has been particularly strong post-2020. Early-maturing girls are at a higher risk for developing...

MS disproportionately sickens women, but men tend to have worse outcomes

Though the disease is more common in women, men's symptoms progress more quickly, with men more often diagnosed with progressive MS and men's cases typically resulting in more severe symptoms—perhaps due at least partly to more delayed diagnosis—and more severe disability over time.

Five to ten percent of Alzheimer's cases are early-onset

Early-onset Alzheimer’s typically emerges around 40 to 50 years of age, with devastating effects. This video follows Brian, diagnosed with the disease at age 54, as he travels the country as an advocate for research and discusses the progressive mental fog of Alzheimer’s.

1 in 15 adults over age 40 experience phantom odors

This phenomenon was measured in a 2018 study that examined the prevalence and risk factors for phantom odor perception. Older adults were less likely to experience these phantom odors as they age, just as their overall sense of smell declines. Women are more likely than men to perceive phantom odors.

Metastasis: When cancer cells begin to travel through the body

Metastatic cancer starts in one part of the body and moves to another over time. This is known as metastasis. Such cancers are much more harmful since they attack multiple parts of the body, adapting new metabolic changes to suit the various environments found throughout a body.

Continual sitting harms your health in a variety of ways

Prolonged inactivity, like sitting for long periods, slows metabolism, weakens muscles and bones, and impairs insulin function. When these negative changes persist over time, the cumulative result is an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and many cancers.

Fertility treatments linked to increased risk of cancer among offspring

Recent research has explored potential links between increased childhood cancer occurrence, particularly leukemia, and assisted reproductive technology (ART). Though some studies have detected this type of association, researchers caution that it remains unclear if ART itself, fertility drugs, underlying infertility of the parents, or other unknown factors may explain any increased cancer numbers among ART-conceived children. Overall, the incidence of cancer in children, regardless of conception method, is very low.

Searching for the history of cancer in ancient human bones

Nestled under archaeology lies bioarchaeology, which involves the study of bones, human or animal. This subfield recently birthed another field of study: paleo-oncology. Paleo-oncology looks for cancer and related biomarkers in bioarchaeological remains. This TED article explains how this nascent multidisciplinary field challenges the idea that cancer is modern.

Some argue that annuities are particularly good options for women

Women live longer than men, meaning they’ll likely be retired for longer. Annuities can provide them with a guaranteed income stream during their retirement years, even if the rest of their retirement plan doesn’t last.

Learn why the Montreal Protocol may help prevent millions of cancer deaths

By restoring the ozone layer and reducing ultraviolet exposure, full implementation of the Montreal Protocol is expected to prevent about 443 million cases of skin cancer, 2.3 million skin cancer deaths, and 63 million cases of cataracts among Americans born from 1890 to 2100.

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The first line of 'immortal' human cells, which can divide indefinitely and are used in scientific research, was nonconsensually taken from a Black woman.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

Radioactive elements can introduce software errors because the ionizing radiation they produce can detach electrons from atoms, and computer code relies on the distribution of electrons.

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Georgia O'Keeffe's flower paintings are often assumed to be sexual, though the artist claimed she was simply interested in highlighting the beauty of flowers that most people neglect

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.

In 1939, baseball star Lou Gehrig delivered his inspirational 'Luckiest Man' speech after retiring due to the health condition that now bears his name.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Coral polyps reproduce via broadcast spawning, where entire reefs simultaneously release reproductive cells for about one hour, once a year.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.