Menopause at 30? Don't be surprised!

New Delhi: If the new age brings with it cell phones, internet-addiction and technology encroaching every area of our lives, then there’s more.

That also puts them at the higher risk of being prone to diseases like osteoporosis, heart problems, diabetes, hypertension and breast cancer.

A new study says Indian women are now reaching menopause as early as at the age of 30. The physiological cessation of menstrual cycles associated with advancing age, menopause is sometimes referred to as change of life or climacteric.

The survey, which was conducted by the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change, was based on the National Family Health Survey of 1998-99 and collected information from a sample of more than 90,000 married women aged between 15-49, which covers 99% of India’s population living in 26 states.

The findings of the survey were presented to Parliament. The main points were:

• 3.1 per cent Indian women were already in menopause by the age of 30-34.
• It goes up to 8 per cent in the case of women between 35 and 39 years.
• Menopause sets in quite rapidly after women cross the age of 40-41.
• Natural menopause occurs between the 45 and 55 years with a mean age of incidence around 51 years worldwide.
• The proportion of women in premature menopause is lower in urban areas (16.1 per cent) than in rural areas (18.3 per cent).
• Among illiterate women, 19.5 per cent of them suffer from premature menopause.
• The figure goes down to 11.1 per cent when the women are educated, the study said.

It said that the proportion of women aged 30-49 who are in menopause is highest for Andhra Pradesh (31.4 per cent), followed by the states of Bihar (21.7 per cent) and Karnataka (20.2 per cent). It is lowest in Kerala (11.6 per cent), followed by West Bengal (12.8 per cent) and Rajasthan (13.1 per cent).

(With inputs from PTI)