Woman are born with a set number of eggs. is frequency of periods correlated with age at menopause?

Question

We were wondering whether having a shorter than average menstrual cycle means that you'd get the menopause earlier than if you had a longer cycle, as surely it means that you run out of eggs sooner!

Answer 1

The menopause is not something that occurs when you run out of eggs, there are still eggs and to spare when menopause happens. It does seem, however, that cycle length is associated with age at menopause: "While results across studies appear to show consistent links with respect to cycle length, findings about cycle variability are mixed. Late age at menopause is associated with longer mean cycle length (18, 19); similarly, short cycle lengths are associated with early onset of menopause" That quote comes from the first paper listed by Weinstein et al.
There is a link, but there's a number of other factors that can affect age at onset of menopause, most notably the effects of pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.

Answer 2

Clarkie was obviously inattentive in class on the day the subject was on Human Biology! The eggs are in situ at birth.
I would imagine that the more periods a female has, the quicker the supply is diminished. As we get older, the eggs age too, of course, so their condition may also trigger the menopause. Hormones also have a lot to do with the menopause.

Answer 3

We (women) would all have to start with the same number of eggs and for the menstrual cycle to start at the same time for that to be the case. I have heard that early menopause can be hereditary, if that helps any?

And for the guy who doesn't know women are born with a set number of eggs, when a women has a female child growing inside her, she is also making the eggs to make her grand-child. The female body is an amazing thing!

Answer 4

The number of eggs a woman has varies considerably. So the frequency of your periods cannot determine when a woman will go through menopause. Also, some women release more than one egg from each ovary at once, which will diminuish egg supplies faster. (supplies was the best word that came to mind!)

Answer 5

Women are born with more than enough (immature) eggs to last the expected life-time of humans when we were evolving.
The menopause can start over a range of ages and, as far as I know, is down to hormone changes not due to running out of eggs.

Answer 6

AFAIK the age at menopause is not related to 'running out' of eggs. Although there is a maximum number of eggs that can be released by a woman's ovary, nowhere near that number will be used by an average woman in her life.

Answer 7

I do not think so. The nature has reserves in many aspects. I do not know for sure, though I think that a woman has much more eggs in her reserve than, say, 400. There are some other mechanisms that regulate menopause.

Answer 8

Yor first point is correct:
The ova contained within the ovaries are formed in the fetus and there number does not increase after birth.


You second point is incorrect:
The menaupause is not linked to the number of eggs contained in the ovaries ~ 1 million per ovary (ie the menopause does not occur because women "run out of ova")

Answer 9

Who told you that women are born with a set number of eggs?

Answer 10

Probably not.