Reproductive Aging and Menopause

Most other animals, including mammals, experience menopause, but only human females live a significant portion of their lives post-reproductively.

What are some factors that may influence the age at which a woman enters menopause? (Select all that apply)

What is the name for the stage preceding actual menopause, marked by irregular menstrual cycles, hot flashes, mood changes, and other symptoms?

Women who use the combination birth control pill (Chapter 13) are more likely to experience perimenopausal symptoms.

What is the name of the condition in which a woman enters menopause before age 40?

Which of the following is the most common symptom experienced by postmenopausal women in the United States?

What is the name for the physiological changes that occur during menopause, including psychological and emotional changes, as well as hormonal and physical changes?

What is the name of the major circulating estrogen in postmenopausal women?

Obese women have higher levels of estrone compared to lean women.

What causes hot flashes?

Women who experience hot flashes have a wider thermoneutral zone than women who do not experience hot flashes.

What is the name of the small glycoprotein hormone that is released by Sertoli cells in the developing testis and causes degeneration of the Mullerian ducts in males?

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels remain detectable in the blood after menopause.

What is the name of the glycoprotein that selectively suppresses the release of FSH from the anterior pituitary?

When the pituitary gland is released from the inhibition of inhibin-B, the secretion of FSH rises, which increases the rate of follicular maturation and shortens the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.

Ovarian follicles are constantly being depleted, which means a woman has an unlimited number of ovulations after which her ovaries are exhausted.

Studies have shown that a girl that enters menarche early will experience menopause earlier in life.

What are some of the age-related changes that occur in oocytes as a woman ages? (Select all that apply)

The depletion of ovarian follicles is the primary cause of menopause.

The risk of miscarriage increases with increasing maternal age.

What is the range of age considered to be peak female fertility?

A woman’s ability to become pregnant declines sharply after age 30, and by age 35, her chances of becoming pregnant are only a third of what they were in her twenties.

Women who have had several full-term pregnancies tend to experience menopause earlier in life.

What is the name of the hormone primarily produced by the granulosa and theca cells of developing small antral follicles, that acts to selectively inhibit the production and release of FSH from the pituitary gland?

In general, a rise in FSH levels is an indicator of ovarian aging in women.

What hormone is present in the developing testis and causes degeneration of the Müllerian ducts in males?

Levels of Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) typically remain stable during the menstrual cycle, which makes it a good biomarker for the number of healthy early tertiary follicles.

Estrogen levels fluctuate during the female cycle, so it should not be measured during the follicular phase.

Because of the significant health benefits discovered from the use of hormone replacement therapy, especially for heart disease and cardiovascular health, it is now widely recommended to women of all ages.

HRT is often used to decrease the risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures, but it should be used in conjunction with other treatments, such as weight-bearing exercise and non-hormonal treatments for osteoporosis.

What is the name of the condition that can develop when a woman’s bones become weak and prone to fracture?

The risk of developing osteoporosis is higher in women who are obese.

Andropause is often referred to as a slow, gradual process and may begin in a man’s forties.

Men who experience andropause have increased blood testosterone levels compared to older men who abstain from sex.

Androgen production declines entirely during andropause.

Older men are more likely to experience a decrease in semen volume.

Androgen replacement therapy (ART) can help to reverse symptoms of andropause, and has no adverse side effects.

The increased risk of neurological disorders and miscarriage in offspring is related to a woman’s age, but not to a man’s age.

What is the name of the theory that suggests the evolution of menopause evolved as an adaptive trait in humans, where older women would help with caretaking of their grandchildren, benefiting their own evolutionary fitness?

The grandmother hypothesis for the evolution of menopause in humans is based on an understanding of the roles of older women in ancient hunter-gatherer societies.

The grandmother hypothesis only explains the evolution of menopause in women, not in men.

The grandfathers' role in ancient societies contributed to their evolutionary fitness by helping with hunting and foraging, while grandmothers were primarily focused on raising children.