Extended bleeding common in menopause: Study

Extended and heavy menstrual bleeding during menopause is common, according to a new study.

"For most women in their 30s, menstrual periods are highly predictable. With the onset of the menopausal transition in their 40s, women's menstrual periods can change dramatically," study author Sioban Harlow, a University of Michigan professor of epidemiology, said in a university news release, reported WebMD.com.

"These dramatic changes can be disconcerting, and often provoke questions about whether something is wrong," she added.

When a woman's ovaries stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone, she enters menopause. This life stage can last anywhere from two to 10 years, the researchers said. Menopause usually occurs after age 45.

The researchers looked at 1,300 American women, aged 42 to 52. They found that 91 percent had experienced bleeding for 10 or more days, 88 percent reported spotting for six or more days, and more than three-quarters had heavy bleeding for three or more days during menopause.

More than one-third of the women had as many as three episodes of 10-plus days of bleeding over six months, according to the study published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The women in the study were white, black, Chinese and Japanese. Previous studies have been mostly limited to white women, the investigators noted.

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