Blood Test May Be Able to Predict the Onset of Menopause

If a blood test could predict when you would begin experiencing menopause would you want to know? Based on how quickly the levels of certain hormones change in a woman’s blood, a new study suggests that doctors may be able to predict, as early as her late 30′s, at what age a woman will begin to experience menopause .

A blood test option for predicting menopause is exciting because as of now the only way for doctors to predict (take an educated guess) when a woman will begin menopause is based on her age. According to the National Institues of Health, the average age for women experiencing this change is 51. Although, it is not uncommon for women in their 40′s to experience the hormonal changes associated with menopause.

Researchers conducting this study found that combining a woman’s age, hormone levels and the extent of those hormonal level changes provided the most accurate indicator of the age at which she’d begin menopause.

Why Would Women Want to Be Able to Predict Menopause?

There is no cure for menopause. Menopause is not a disease, but a natural transition of a woman’s hormone production that ends her reproductive years. Predicting the onset of menopause would not erase the onset of menopause, but it could help women explore more options to make menopausal symptoms less imposing like Amberen, an all natural menopause supplement that menopausal women are raving about.

Frequent complaints from menopausal women include:

• Night sweats
• Hot flashes
• Lowered libido
• Intense mood swings
• Weight gain
• Skin changes

For younger women who are experiencing menopause, there would be more options available to delay the onset of menopause by introducing synthethic hormones, commonly referred to as hormone replacement therapy. Following a study from the Women’s Health Initiative, a backlash occurred renouncing the safety of sythetic hormones. Recently, the medical community has begun to relax their attitudes about HRT, especially for women under the age of 50.

HRT shouldn’t be used longer than 5 years and never in women over the age of 50. Therefore, predicting early menopause in women could allow more time delaying menopausal symptoms.

Not An Exact Science

Predicting a woman’s exact age of the hormonal changes that begin menopause, is not an exact science. There are other conditions that can mimic menopause and create hormonal abnormalities which may be detected in a blood test. The best way to predict menopause is to be aware of your body, note changes both small and large. Ask your female relatives, especially your mother, grandmother, sister, when they started to notice menopausal symptoms. A greater awareness of our bodies and knowledge of our familial menopause traits are natural indicators of when you will begin menopause, too.

Would you be interested in a blood test to predict menopause? How would this help you?