United States: As the experts, Dr. Sharon Malone, ob-gyn and the chief medical adviser to Alloy Women’s Health, stated, “Perimenopause – otherwise known as the ‘menopausal transition’ – is the phase of reproductive life that is positioned between a woman’s peak reproductive years and menopause.”
The levels of estrogen go up and down, too unevenly and unpredictably, when perimenopause is going on.
Age of Perimenopause
According to Dr. Lauren Streicher, who is a clinical professor at Northwestern University and host of Dr. Streicher’s Inside Information Podcast, several women seem surprised by the changes that their bodies start experiencing, who usually expect that something like that does not happen before they reach their 50s, Yahoo Life reported.
Although perimenopause normally begins around 45 years, it can start much earlier than one expects, even by the age of 35.
According to Malone, such women are those under pressure, in poor health, or who usually take cigarettes earlier. All of these ages are fairly typical, except for the changes – which, even at their mildest, might not feel at all normal.
Transition period varies
The transition period varies from person to person, as it could be as unique as one’s thumbprint.
With this, it could take from three to four years on average. Or it could be as long as a decade.
According to Malone, “The large range can be due to genetic differences or the health and lived experience of the individual,” Yahoo Life reported.
Role of genetics
While there could be multiple genes and variants at play, genetics don’t always rule: a study by the University of Michigan showed that genetic predispositions could differ depending on the race and ethnicity of the people in the test.
For instance, Black women experience perimenopause at an earlier age and also have worse symptoms, according to Malone.
She added, “These changes are more than likely due to environmental and lived experiences rather than genetic factors,” and “Black women also experience an almost 50% increase in depressive symptoms and are more likely to experience disturbed sleep — decreased hours of sleep and poorer-quality sleep.”