The evolution of the human menopause

Abstract

The females of most species die soon after ceasing to reproduce, their purpose in life being to ensure survival of their kin. Human females may live more than one-third of their lives after they cease to reproduce, a property shared by few species, one of which is Orca whales. Orcas have been extensively studied because families live together in stable units or pods and individual whales have distinctive markings, enabling them to be identified. The females survive long after the menopause, one possible reason for this being that the older females provide a survival advantage since they are seen to lead the pods more often than younger females or males, thus providing a survival advantage in times of food shortage.

The female lifespan is increasing in most countries worldwide, principally due to decreased infection and maternal mortality. Women are now more active through middle and into older age. Whatever sort of life they wish to lead, women need to be as fit as possible to facilitate healthy aging. Chronic diseases that affect millions of women are cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and dementia. The incidence of all these is increased by obesity, the prevention of which is a major challenge in our society. Hormone therapy may have a place for some women but for many others taking control of their health by lifestyle intervention is a major contributor to disease prevention. It is our duty as doctors to encourage this at every opportunity to help all women live a fruitful and healthy old age.

摘要

大多数物种的雌性在停止繁殖后会很快死亡, 它们生命的目的是确保其亲属的生存。而人类雌性在停止繁殖后可能会继续存活她们生命的三分之一, 这是少数物种仅有的特性, 其中一种就是逆戟鲸。逆戟鲸已被广泛研究, 因其具有家族聚集性, 个体鲸鱼还具有独特的标记, 使他们易于识别。女性在绝经后会存活很长时间, 其中一个可能的原因是年长的雌性可以提供生存优势, 因为她们比年轻的雌性或雄性更有引领家族的经验, 以致于当食物短缺时她们可以提供生存优势。

全球大多数国家的女性寿命正在增加, 主要是由于感染和孕产妇死亡率的下降。现在, 女性在中年和老年时更加活跃。无论她们希望过什么样的生活, 女性都需要尽可能地健康, 以促进晚年的健康。影响数百万女性的慢性疾病是心血管疾病, 骨质疏松症, 癌症和痴呆症。 这些疾病的发病率都因肥胖而增加, 因此预防肥胖是我们社会的一项重大挑战。激素疗法可能对某些女性有用, 但对于许多人来说, 通过生活方式干预来控制他们的健康是预防疾病的主要措施。作为医生, 我们有责任抓住每次机会鼓励帮助所有女性度过一个丰富和健康的晚年。

Keywords:

• Evolution
• menopause
• chronic disease
• aging
• health

Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Nil.