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Premature ovarian failure occurs when a woman’s ovaries stop working before the age of 40. It was formerly called premature menopause, but premature ovarian failure is not the same as menopause. During menopause, a woman’s period stops completely and they can no longer become pregnant. A woman with premature ovarian failure can still have periods even though they may be irregular and there is still a slight chance that she can become pregnant. Other names for premature ovarian failure are primary ovarian insufficiency, hypergonadotropic hypogonadism and ovarian hypofunction.
The symptoms of premature ovarian failure are infertility, hot flashes, absence of periods, night sweats, irritability, moodiness, sleep disturbance, decreased libido, hair coarseness and vaginal dryness. Early indications include lack of breast development during puberty, menstrual cycles that last less than 21 days and very frequent or light menstrual periods, absence or cessation of periods.
The causes of premature ovarian failure are unknown in most cases. It can be caused by genetic factors such as chromosome abnormalities. It can also occur with autoimmune disorders that disrupt normal ovarian function and from chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Premature ovarian failure affects approximately 1 out of every 1000 women between the ages of 15 and 29 and 1 in ever 100 women between the ages of 30 and 39.
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