# Correlation between time of menarche and time of menopause?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correlation-between-time-of-menarche-and-time-of-menopause/404310>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 16, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correlation-between-time-of-menarche-and-time-of-menopause/404310 "2007-05-16T13:10:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correlation-between-time-of-menarche-and-time-of-menopause/404310/1 "2007-05-16T13:10:00Z")

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Do women who start their menses early in life enter menopause early, too? It seems intuitive that they would, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard this touted as fact.

And also, have any studies shown that taking the pill for a long period of time effects the onset of menopause?

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**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\
**Post date:** [May 16, 2007, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/correlation-between-time-of-menarche-and-time-of-menopause/404310/2 "2007-05-16T13:30:01Z")

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Bearing in mind that we’re tlaking about “averages” here…from [here.](http://www.medicinenet.com/menopause/page2.htm)

> [@](#):
>
> _The average age of menopause is 51 years old. But there is no way to predict when an individual woman will enter menopause. The age at which a woman starts having menstrual periods is…not related to the age of menopause onset…As a rough “rule of thumb,” women tend to undergo menopause at an age similar to that of their mothers._

And also…

> [@](#):
>
> \*Certain medical and surgical conditions can influence the timing of menopause.
> 
> Surgical removal of the ovaries…  
> Cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy…  
> Premature ovarian failure…\*

IOW, birth control pills are not mentioned.

FWIW, I didn’t start having periods until I was 15, but menopause kicked in right on schedule at Year 50. If there were a correlation between age of menarche and age of menopause, I should have had at least a few more hot-flash-free years.