The average age of onset of the menopause among Irish women is 51. About 12 per cent of women pass through the menopause without experiencing any noteworthy symptoms. Of the other 88 per cent, one third of these will experience symptoms which they don't worry about. The other two-thirds will experience symptoms which are more severe and may require treatment.
The symptoms most commonly experienced during the menopause include hot flushes, sweating, sleeplessness, early morning wakening, dizziness and palpitations. Hot flushes occur in 75 per cent of menopausal women and 40forty per cent of women who attend visit their doctors for menopausal symptoms suffer incontinence within five to eight years of the menopause.
The abrupt fall in oestrogen levels after a surgically- induced menopause (that is, ie following a hysterectomy) can lead to more severe symptoms. Genetic and environmental stresses (such as children leaving home and care of ageing parents) can also exacerbate menopausal symptoms.