Female smokers risk premature menopause

Permanent Secretary Dr Prat Boonyavongvirot said on World Menopause Day that there were currently 7 million Thai women going through menopause, which he said occurred on average at age 48.

However, some 300,000 Thai female smokers may have their last period earlier than their peers because smoking causes blood vessels to solidify and deliver less blood to the organs, including the ovaries, which may fail and produce much less oestrogen, prompting early menopause, he said.

The ministry plans menopause clinics with trained personnel in all hospitals by 2011, he said, to reduce chronic health problems among elderly women. So far some 300 have been set up.

Health Department chief Dr Narongsak Unkasuwapala stressed that menopause was usually a natural process, not a disease or a disorder, involving the ovaries stopping oestrogen production, leading to the absence of monthly periods.

The resulting hormonal fluctuation brings on hot flushes, sweating, poor sleep, anxiety, irritability, depression, headaches, joint pains, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, pain during intercourse, frequent urination, dry skin and hair loss, he said, adding that in the long term menopausal women were more at risk of osteoporosis, breast cancer, cervical cancer and abdominal obesity, the last of which could lead to high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and paralysis.

The National Statistics Office reported in 2006 that only 30 per cent of women with menopause used the menopause clinics' services, which Narongsak said indicated a need to promote public understanding of menopause and menopause clinics. He said menopause might not occur in all women but when it did, they and their families might not understand, which could lead to family problems.