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Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones： I'm too hot, I'm too cold, wait, I'm just right. 这是在更年期的金发姑娘. Menopause happens at about 50, but aging happens too. What are symptoms due to menopause and what are symptoms due to aging? 这是博士. Kirtly Parker Jones from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Utah Health Care and this is menopause and this is 范围.
播音员: Medical news and research from University of Utah physicians and specialists you can use for a happier and healthier life. 您正在收听的是范围.
Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones： 为什么女性会有更年期? How is menopause different from aging? 一个, 女人和雌虎鲸有什么区别, 虎鲸, but I don't like that term very much, 领航鲸分享, that almost no other mammals have? Well they share a long life after their baby making days are over, 他们有共同的语言, and their kids take a really long time to grow up. Chimpanzees, with whom we share 98% of our genes die just a few years after their menopause. But humans and female orcas may live 45 years after their menopause.
Some famous evolutionary anthropologists think that the grandmother theory explains this. The grandmother theory suggests that having a grandmother helps the daughter be a better mother. 更多的孙子存活下来. You need language to teach and humans have language, orcas have language, chimpanzees, not so much. So having a grand old lady around helps the tribe survive and run the PTA and the nonprofits and the family reunions. Postmenopausal women are the civilizing force of society.
Female orcas run the pack and teach their children and grandchildren how to hunt and their boys, 像意大利男孩一样, seem to take forever before they leave home, 事实上, 他们从不离开家. Orcas aren't sexually mature until their mid teens, 对男性来说晚一些, and they aren't very good hunters until then as well. 听起来很熟悉?
So, two, why isn't it so good for the tribe for women to die right after baby making is over? 大发娱乐讨论过这个. Grandmothers help the moms be better mothers. So why don't we make babies until we're 80? 男人可以. I think all of you who have had children can answer that one. Children who give birth very late in life are more likely to die before their adolescents can stand on their own emotional and financial feet. And pregnancy is really hard on the heart.
So, three, how is menopause different from aging? Well the ovary starts losing eggs before we are even born and we see peak fertility in the 20s. Fertility declines in the 30s and plummets in the 40s and is rare in the 50s. They average age for menopause in American women of all races is about 50, 51 for Caucasian women and the range is 40 to 61. The menopause is your last natural period. The ovary ages and the eggs aren't so fertile as they get older and periods aren't so predictable.
有一次, 绝经前, when periods are less regular and some are skipped, this is the perimenopause and it has an average of about four years. Sorry ladies, I'm too hot, I'm too cold, oh, wait, I'm just right, that's kind of the perimenopause.
So looking at competitive athletes, it's rare to see them at the top of their game after 35. This is aging; the hearts, 肺, 结缔组织, 大脑, bone density are at their peak in their 20s and start declining in the 30s. Women at 50 may complain about their memory, 他们的皱纹, their joints and their hot flashes, but only hot flashes is specifically linked to the decline in ovarian function. Of course, if you're having 25 hot flashes a day, it's hard to sleep and focus on things.
So what are the common menopause symptoms? 潮热和阴道干燥, 但并非所有女性都有, 15% of Caucasian women will not experience hot flashes, 亚洲女性则更少, African American women have a few more, 不是每个人都有. But if you have a lot of hot flashes, how long will they last? 大发娱乐是坏消息. 平均8年. 这是博士. Kirtly Jones and thank you for joining us on 范围.
播音员: We're your daily dose of science, conversation, medicine. This is 范围, University of Utah Health Sciences Radio.