Genetic factors may influence the timing of menopause. Premature ovarian failure (POF) has recently been identified as a genetic entity, but no genetic data are available on early menopause (EM). We investigated 36 patients with EM (age of menopause between 40 and 45 years of age) using cytogenetic and pedigree analysis. In 30 patients of this study the EM was idiopathic and 15 subjects (50%) h...

BACKGROUND Premature menopause, also termed premature ovarian failure (POF), is characterized by cessation of menstruation before the age of 40 years. Little information is available on the general prevalence of POF or on the prevalence by ethnic group. There is also a lack of information on the association of POF with health indicators. METHODS A cross-sectional survey of women aged 40-55 ye...

In a sample of post-menopausal premutation carrier mothers of children with the full mutation of fragile X syndrome (n = 88), this study examined the co-occurrence of the reproductive and psychiatric phenotypes associated with FMR1 premutations. Mean age at menopause was 43.1 years, and 35.2% of premutation carriers reported cessation of menses prior to age 40 (premature ovarian failure), but o...

PURPOSE Women with epilepsy (WWE) have an increased risk for several reproductive endocrine disorders that may affect their fertility. The incidence of premature ovarian failure (POF) in women with epilepsy has not been systematically studied. This study examined the incidence of POF in women with epilepsy. METHODS Fifty consecutively evaluated cognitively normal women with epilepsy, aged 38-...

In a twin sample where duration of gestation can be controlled, a specific example of the fetal origins hypothesis concerning association between low birth weight and early age at menopause is explored. The hypothesis is based on the physiologically plausible path from intrauterine growth retardation and reduced numbers of primary follicles to an earlier menopause. The sample comprised 323 Aust...

BACKGROUND It is recognized that FMR1 premutation expansions are associated with premature ovarian failure (POF), but the role of smaller repeats at the boundary of premutation and normal is less clear. METHODS We have therefore investigated the incidence of these intermediate sized FMR1 CGG repeats (35-58 repeats) in a series of 366 women ascertained because of menopause before the age of 40...

These studies were undertaken to determine the effect, if any, of treatment for cancer diagnosed during childhood or adolescence on ovarian function and reproductive outcomes. We reviewed the frequency of acute ovarian failure, premature menopause, live birth, stillbirth, spontaneous and therapeutic abortion and birth defects in the participants in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS). Ac...