Private MD News

Blood test predicts age of menopause

Category: Menopause/Peri-Menopausal Diagnosis

Researchers have identified a new method of menopause testing that can better predict the age at which a woman will experience the life-changing transition.

Scientists were able to identify a hormone that can be detected with a simple blood test that is responsible for ovarian function. Low levels of this hormone, even at ages as young as 20, can predict whether or not a woman will experience early menopause (which was defined by the study as occurring at age 45 or younger).

Using the new menopause test, researchers were able to predict within an average of one-third of a year the age at which women will experience menopause.

Fahimeh Ramezani Tehrani, who led the research, said that knowing they will experience menopause at a younger point in their reproductive lives could benefit women who are thinking about planning a family.

"The results from our study could enable us to make a more realistic assessment of women's reproductive status many years before they reach menopause," she said. "We believe that our estimates are of sufficient validity to guide medical practitioners so that they can help women with their family planning."