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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.)

Scientists have not yet answered what the evolutionary benefit may be of menopause

Few animals are known to experience menopause, raising questions about why it would be evolutionarily advantageous to have women survive past their reproductive years. One leading hypothesis is the grandmother hypothesis—older women and other species known to experience menopause, like whales, can aid families and pass down knowledge to future generations.

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...

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.

Autoimmune disease prevalence and incidence are on the rise—but no one knows why

Researchers theorize that environmental factors, including shifts to less healthy diets, air pollution, infections, stress, climate change, and exposures to xenobiotics—substances like pesticides, plastics, and toxins that incite immune responses—may all be fueling epigenetic changes to our bodies that make people's immune responses go awry.

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.

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.

Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia and risks rise after age 65

Read this primer about Alzheimer's disease and learn what factors increase the risk of this form of dementia, including genetics, being a woman, and health conditions, including high blood pressure.

Why young women experience the most workplace ageism

While one might assume that older women face the most unfair treatment due to age in the workplace, some research from McKinsey & Co. suggests otherwise. The consulting firm found that while ageism impacts older women and men at similar rates, women in their 20s and 30s report much higher instances of ageism than both older women and their young, male colleagues. Learn more from the research here.

Pregnancy at older ages increases the chances of fetal abnormalities

Chromosomal irregularities are more likely at older maternal ages so genetic testing for a fetus of mothers-to-be at age 35 and older is often recommended. Conditions that can be screened for in utero include cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, sickle cell disease, Down syndrome, spina bifida, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and more.

Doctors use three key physical markers to determine biological aging

The length of the ends of chromosomes (known as "telomeres"), the gradual change in collections of DNA molecules called "methyl groups", and the secretion of inflammatory proteins are all used as indicators of biological age.

People with schizophrenia typically die 9 years earlier than the general population

The syndrome, which affects roughly 1 in 233 adults, is often associated with other serious health issues, including cardiovascular, metabolic, and infectious diseases, which may contribute to early deaths. The side effects of long-term antipsychotic medications also may influence the mortality timing—weight gain, for example, is a common side effect of the drugs and can contribute to cardiovascular issues.

Calculate your risk of developing cancer

Hosted by the National Cancer Institute, this tool provides interactive charts that display the likelihood of dying from various causes—including cancer—based on factors like age, sex, race, and smoking status. By contextualizing cancer risk among other potential health threats, users can create custom charts.

Stress-induced hormones contribute to gray hair

When the body experiences stress, the sympathetic nervous system releases the hormone norepinephrine. This hormone prematurely activates pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) in hair follicles, which depletes the hair's ability to retain color over the long run.

LIghter-colored eyes have heightened risks for macular degeneration

People with blue eyes appear to be at elevated risk of developing the disorder, perhaps because more light can penetrate their eyes. But the most significant modifiable factor heightening the risk for macular degeneration is smoking.

Symptoms of extreme radiation exposure may take hours to manifest

Large doses of ionizing radiation can damage the body within minutes, particularly in the bone marrow and inner layer of the digestive tract. Victims may briefly seem fine before rapidly deteriorating as immune failure, infection and organ collapse set in.

Cells become cancerous if checkpoints in the cell cycle are damaged

Before cells divide, a protein called p53 can halt the cell cycle if damaged DNA is identified, preventing the fault from propagating to daughter cells. If p53 and other tumor-suppressing molecules cannot function due to mutations or other instabilities, damage can accumulate over successive generations until nothing stops cells from dividing uncontrollably, creating tumors.

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

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.

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

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

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

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

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

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

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

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.

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.

Bone marrow (soft tissue found inside certain bones) generates roughly 500 billion new blood cells each day

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.

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

Use this calculator to find the dollar value of your mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care for your children.

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.

The story of Dollree Mapp, whose legal challenge over her 1957 conviction for possessing "obscene material" led to a major strengthening of the Fourth Amendment

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.

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

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

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

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