6 important facts about menopause

Although most women report symptoms such as hot flashes and mood changes, menopause is different for everyone.

For example, the average age of menopause - 12 months since the last menstrual period - is 51, and most women experience symptoms between the ages of 45 and 55. But this is just an average. Sometimes menopause occurs as early as 30 years old, writes Yahoo Life.

Here are some important facts about menopause that experts say you might not know.

1. Your family history helps predict when you will go through menopause

Knowing when your mother went through menopause can help you determine when it might happen to you. As OB/GYN Dr. Sharon Malone told Yahoo Life, menopause can also come earlier or later, as we only have 50% of the genes from our mothers.

2. Menopause plays a role in weight gain

During menopause, women put on an average of five kilograms, and this is mainly due to a combination of hormonal changes and aging. Malone explains that women typically put on just under a pound a year because their metabolism slows down as they age. But when you gain weight at the transition to menopause, low estrogen levels cause the weight to be gained mainly in the abdomen.

3. Menopause can affect your vision

Dr. Samina Rahman, a gynecologist and women's health specialist at the Center for Gynecology and Cosmetology, told Yahoo Life that vision problems during menopause are exacerbated by the fact that aging itself affects vision.

Rahman notes that the most common menopausal eye problems are dry eyes and blurred vision.

4. You can still carry a baby through menopause

When menopause occurs, there are no more periods. However, it is technically possible for a woman to carry a child to term through in vitro fertilization using a donor egg.

5. Menopause can lead to increased forgetfulness

As estrogen levels decline as they approach and during menopause, some women experience a sharp decline in cognitive abilities, known as brain fog. Research shows that women may experience "heightened forgetfulness" during the transition to menopause.

6. Early menopause may increase the risk of dementia.

There may be a link between early menopause and an increased risk of developing dementia later in life. A 2022 study found that women who go through menopause before age 45 have a 35% increased risk of developing dementia. They were also 1.3 times more likely to have symptoms of dementia before age 65.

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