There are biologically negative effects of menopause linked to the reduction in hormones – low levels of oestrogen in particular. In females, it’s known to have significant negative impact on longer term health, impacting bone, brain, cardiovascular and immune function, which in turn can lead to a multitude of chronic conditions.
Women have a longer lifespan than men, but health is not maintained throughout the entire lifespan. The leading causes of death in females in the UK are Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and cardiovascular disease.
But this negative effect is lessened in women who go through a late menopause, defined as being after 55 years. They are found to have improved bone, brain and heart health, and increased longevity in comparison to those who go through menopause earlier.
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This suggests that delaying menopause could have significant beneficial impact on long-term health.However, studies show that women with a long exposure to natural oestrogen (i.e. women who go through puberty at an early age and/or have a late onset menopause) do have a higher risk of breast, uterine and ovarian cancers, which are associated with oestrogen. So, prolonged exposure to oestrogen in these circumstances is not without risk and there appears a fine balance is needed.
