What is medical menopause?

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.

How menopause affects mental health

Menopause, a natural biological process, occurs in three stages: perimenopause (hormone fluctuations), menopause (end of menstrual cycles), and postmenopause (12 months without menstruation). Hormonal shifts during this time can affect neurotransmitters, increasing the risk of mood disorders.

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.

Menopause is a hormonal transition point, like puberty

Yet menopause isn't talked about as much. In this podcast episode by Houston Methodist, a Texas-based hospital, the host speaks with a gynecologist with a specialization in menopausal medicine about what menopause really is, and how women and the people in their lives can navigate this next life stage.

What to know about early and premature menopause

Although it's rare, some women may experience menopause early. Early menopause describes women that are menopausal between the ages of 40 and 45. Women that go through menopause before age 40 experience premature menopause. Early experiences of menopause impact under 6% of women, and doctors can’t point to a specific reason why it happens. Learn about what we do know about the conditions here.

Menopause is defined as 12 months without a period

Menopause is officially when a woman stops getting her period, meaning she has stopped ovulating and can no longer get pregnant. A woman has to go a full year without bleeding or spotting to know she has hit menopause.

Perimenopause, which typically occurs in a woman's mid-40s, precedes menopause

Sometimes referred to as the menopausal transition, this time period often lasts around 4 years as the ovaries' production of the reproductive hormones progesterone and estrogen decline. It may be accompanied by mental and physical symptoms including irregular periods, hot flashes, sleep issues, mood swings, and alterations to a woman's sex drive.

Common hormone therapies to treat menopausal symptoms

While there is no cure for menopause, there are ways to treat some of the intense symptoms women experience during perimenopause. There are two main hormone therapies used, one in the form of a pill, gel, or patch to treat symptoms like hot flashes, and another in the form of a cream or ring to treat symptoms like vaginal dryness. Read this article to learn more about the different hormone therapies available for menopausal women.

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.

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.

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

Defined as when a woman starts to experience perimenopause after age 55, this delayed menopause onset is linked to elevated risk of developing breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers.

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.)

Humans aren't the only mammals who go through menopause, but it's rare in the animal world

While scientists are unsure how many mammals actually experience menopause, they do know for sure that humans aren't the only ones. Orcas and some toothed whales (like belugas and narwhals) go through menopause. And a recent study found chimpanzees also experience the condition, though it's late in life.

'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.

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.

Estrogen is a really important hormone for men, too

Many people may be familiar with the idea that too much estrogen can cause infertility and other complications, including erectile dysfunction, but too little estrogen is also a significant medical concern because it can result in a reduced sex drive and limit overall growth.

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.

Ménière's disease is a long-term, inner ear disorder that causes vertigo

This severe vertigo-causing disorder may involve long and recurrent episodes of vertigo. Symptoms of this disease include balance issues and hearing loss, tinnitus, and a feeling of fullness in the ear. It typically affects only one ear and is linked to a buildup of excess fluid in the inner ear.

'Men's groups' seek to offer deeper authenticity and personal growth

These formalized gatherings of men involve meaningful check-ins and sharing of daily experiences with the goal of personal growth. They are typically founded with the intention of bringing together men who want to examine their life and relationships, seek personal growth, and explore their ongoing relationship with masculinity and manhood.

The WHO defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon

While it’s not a medical condition, the World Health Organization defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), and considers it separate from general stress.

Distinguishing between natural and artificial, or induced, radioactivity

Naturally occurring radioactivity comes from radioactive elements underground, cosmic radiation from the sun and other objects in space, and radioactive atoms that make up the molecules we breathe, eat, and drink. Artificial radioactivity is predominantly generated for medical applications and industrial activities.

The medical profession has a dark history of 'body snatching' for education

This term originally referred to secretly removing corpses from graves for sale—usually to medical schools where they were used for education. The practice dates back at least to the 1300s but still—much more rarely—persists today.

See this ranking of the top 10 medical shows on television

The Hollywood Reporter created this 2025 ranking of 10 television shows from around the world that focus on medicine. Candidates included "Grey's Anatomy," "The Pitt," "New Amsterdam," "ER," and more. The publication warns that its ranking is a living document that may change with time—and that its explanations include show spoilers.

See how to make a baby with 3 parents, a process called mitochondrial replacement therapy

This primer video dives into the science of mitochondrial disease risks, how this controversial mitochondrial replacement technique can work, and why proponents say this reproductive advance—already legalized in the UK and Australia—is needed in the United States.

What exactly is a GMO?

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is an organism whose DNA has been altered for specific improvement such as longer shelf life, disease resistance, or enhanced nutrition—which can benefit both farmers and consumers. While humans have used...

Hookworm infection, though risky, may help fight certain autoimmune conditions by tamping down the immune system's inflammatory response.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

While atoms are normally made of protons, neutrons, and electrons, exotic ones have been built with antimatter—alternate versions of normal matter that live for fractions of a second and are about a billion times as rare.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Astronauts have repaired genetic damage in space using CRISPR—a molecular tool that can make precise changes to DNA and is used in single-celled organisms to attack invasive viruses.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

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.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

The first robot in literature may have been a 'mechanical man' in 1907's 'Ozma of Oz,' a book in L Frank Baum's 'Wizard of Oz' series.

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.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

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

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

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

The boiling temperature of water decreases with increasing elevation because the molecules need less energy to overcome the lower atmospheric pressure associated with thinner air.

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

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

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.

El Niño, Spanish for 'the boy,' was named after Jesus Christ because the phenomenon resembled the weather changes observed around Christmastime.

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