Estrogen replacement therapy and menopause

There are now more than 40 million women in the U.S. who are 50 years of age or older. The median age of women at the time of menopause is between 50 and 51 years and since the life expectancy of women is now approximately 81 years, they can expect to live one third of their lives after the menopause. It has only been in this century that the average life span has exceeded the average of menopause. The term menopause refers to the last episode of menstrual bleeding, and women are commonly referred to as being postmenopausal if they have not experienced menstrual bleeding for one year. The climacteric, on the other hand, refers to the transitional period between the years of reproduction and the last episode of menstrual bleeding. During this time, there is a progressive decline in ovarian function and estrogen production. Accompanying this decline in ovarian function, women often experience a variety of endocrine, somatic, and psychological changes.