A woman’s race and ethnicity appear to be important predictors of the age at which she will enter menopause, study findings hint.
Compared with non-Latina White women, natural menopause appears to occur at an earlier age among Latina women and a later age among Japanese-American women, according to Researchers.
Age at natural menopause among African American and Native Hawaiian women appears similar to that of non-Latina White women.
Further analyses that factored for smoking, age at menstruation, number of births, and body weight did not significantly alter the race/ethnicity differences in start of menopause seen in the study, the investigators note.
Nonetheless, smoking was still associated with earlier menopause, as was earlier age at menstruation, lower number of births, and lower body weight.
The findings support the hypothesis that genetic factors are important, perhaps alone or in combination with lifestyle or reproductive factors.
It’s no secret that exercise is vital to maintaining a healthy body. As women age and go through menopause, it can become even more important. Why not try yoga?
Yoga can reduce hot flashes and night sweats among women going through menopause, and also appears to sharpen their mental function, researchers from India report.
A regular yoga practice can help with specific symptoms of menopause and our attitude towards it. Yoga postures level out the physiological instability by relaxing and gently stretching every muscle in the body, promoting better blood circulation.
Those who practice yoga say the benefits include balancing the endocrine system which controls our body’s production of hormones. It calms the nervous system, reducing stress and the aggravation of hot flashes. Yoga is a weight-bearing exercise, strengthening our bones and preventing osteoporosis. Yoga also massages the reproductive organs, relieves pelvic congestion and headaches, boosts the immune system, reduces fatigue, and smoothes out mood swings. The deep breathing that goes hand in hand with the various yoga poses oxygenates the blood, cleansing the organs and respiratory system, nourishing the nervous system. Yoga creates strength and flexibility in our bodies, calms our minds and centers us in our hearts. Yoga soothes, balances and rejuvenates all parts of us, bringing us to wholeness, allowing us to shine.
For some men, a midlife crisis can be complicated. It can be an uncomfortable time emotionally which can lead to depression and the need for psychotherapy. Those who have a hard time with this transitional stage might experience a wide range of feelings, such as:
- Unhappiness with life and the lifestyle that may have provided them with happiness for many years.
- Boredom with people and things that may have been of interest to them before.
- Feeling a need for adventure and change.
- Questioning the choices, they have made in their lives and the validity of decisions they made years before.
- Confusion about who they are and where they are going.
- Anger at their spouse and blame for feeling tied down.
- Unable to make decisions about where they want to go with their life.
- Doubt that they ever loved their spouse and resentment over the marriage.
- A desire for a new and passionate, intimate relationship.
The emotions described above are similar to what women experience although we have more physical symptoms to contend with.
For most women, increases and shifts in weight begin during perimenopause — the years leading up to menopause. On average, women gain about a pound a year during this time.
But changing hormone levels associated with menopause aren’t necessarily the cause of weight gain. Aging and lifestyle factors play a big role in your changing body composition, including:
- Exercising less. Menopausal women tend to exercise less than other women, which can lead to weight gain.
- Eating more. Eating more means you’ll take in more calories, which are converted to fat if you don’t burn them for energy.
- Burning fewer calories. The number of calories you need for energy decreases as you age because aging promotes the replacement of muscle with fat. Muscle burns more calories than fat does. When your body composition shifts to more fat and less muscle, your metabolism slows down.
Genetic factors may play a role in weight gain as well. If your parents and other close relatives carry extra weight around the abdomen, you may be predisposed to do so, too.
Weight gain can also have serious implications for your health. Excess weight increases your risk of high cholesterol, high blood pressure and insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. These factors also put you at increased risk of heart disease and stroke.
Hot flashes have been known to wreak havoc in a woman’s sleep at midlife. Studies have often reported that sleep problems increase during the transition into menopause, reinforcing the idea that hot flashes are to blame. But even under controlled conditions in sleep laboratories, the connection between hot flashes and sleep disruption remains unclear, according to Harvard Women’s Health Watch.
A new study concludes that some of the sleep problems that women typically attribute to hot flashes may instead be caused by primary sleep disorders such as sleep apnea. The findings suggest that women may not be receiving appropriate treatment for their sleep difficulties.
The finding that half the women had primary sleep disorders, not just hot flashes, bears further investigation, notes the Harvard Women’s Health Watch. Sleep problems are often assumed to result from hot flashes, but treating hot flashes isn’t likely to resolve a serious underlying sleep disorder.
The School of Nursing Dept. at The University of Texas at Austin two studies:
1) To explore ethnic differences in midlife women’s attitudes toward physical activity.
2) An Internet study on menopausal symptom experience among diverse ethnic groups of middle-aged women.
You are eligible to participate in this study if you are a midlife women aged 40 to 60 years old who do not have any mobility problems; who can read and write English; who are online; and whose self-reported ethnic identity is Hispanic, non-Hispanic (N-H) White, N-H African American, or N-H Asian.
Data will be collected through the Internet from Feb. 1, 2008 to May 31, 2011. Methods for the data collection include an Internet survey among 500 midlife women in the U.S. on the Internet and four ethnic-specific online forum discussions among about 30 midlife women per ethnic group recruited among the Internet survey participants.
Your involvement will consist of the following: (a) about 30 minutes are usually needed to complete the Internet survey questionnaire; and (b) the online forums will be conducted for 6 months, should you agree to participate in the additional online forum discussion. Your participation is asynchronous (you can visit the online forum site and read and post messages at your convenience).
You will receive two gift certificates of 10 dollars for filling out the Internet survey, and two additional gift certificates of 50 dollars for participating in the additional online forum (only those who participate in the additional online forum for 6 months will be provided with this additional gift certificate). To get reimbursed for the online forums, you have to post at least one message per topic. For more information, please visit at the school’s website http://moms.nur.utexas.edu/MOMS/ and/or
Contact Information:
Hyun-Ju Lim, MSN, RN,
Graduate Research Assistant
Graduate Assistant
Doctoral Candidate
School of Nursing
University of Texas at Austin
E-mail: hyunjoo73@mail.utexas.edu>>
Menopause has been known to do some strange things to women. Some women say it makes them crazy. Others say it causes them to feel like they’re suffering through summer all year long.
For me, menopause has revealed sides of me I never thought I’d see. An extra roll here, cellulite there and hair everywhere!
Remember that TV show from the 1950s called Kids Say the Darndest Things! For women in menopause, the new version of that show is: Kids Ask the Darndest Questions. It is only fitting that I would share this story today on the 96th birthday of the man who brought children and laughter into our homes for more than 25 years (Art Linkletter).
In Church this past Sunday, I found myself sitting next to an inquisitive little four-year-old. Prior to the beginning of service, he was squirming around in his seat and looked like he was trying to play tag with the little boy seated next to him. That little boy was my two-year-old grandson.
When our eyes met, I politely asked the four-year-old if he could sit still. He shook his head, yes. Then I asked him if there was anything he wanted to ask me. He wanted to know my relationship to the boy sitting beside him. I told him I was his grandmother. I then asked him if there was anything else he wanted to ask. He stared at me for a moment and then asked, “Why do you have a mustache?”
Now you know this isn’t a question I expected. I could’ve told him the long version about how there is increased growth of hair on the face of women just before and just after menopause and it’s a common occurrence. I could’ve also taken the time to explain the fact that the facial hair is primarily due to a decreased amount of estrogen in the body.
I did acknowledge the fact that I had a mustache but before I could go any further, the choir provided a much-needed distraction.
