The test that predicts when the menopause will start



Roadmap: A new test tells women how many years they are away from their menopause so they can better plan pregnancies in later life

Scientists have developed a test that can predict when a woman will go through the menopause.

The breakthrough will allow those in their late 30s and 40s to pinpoint how long they have left to conceive and when they should try for a baby.

It will also help women prepare mentally for fertility loss and the hot flushes, mood swings and loss of libido that the 'change' brings on.

The test, which measures hormones in the blood to calculate how many eggs are left in ovaries, was welcomed last night by British experts.

Bill Ledger, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at Sheffield University, said: 'The menopause is a big life event which has big implications for women's lifestyle and quality of life.

'This test seems to be reasonably predictive of menopause.



'Lots of people want to know when it's going to happen so that they can plan their life, work and children, if possible. This would give them an idea of that.'



The test was developed by a team at the University of Michigan in the US.

It found that changes in the levels of three hormones - AMH, FSH and inhibin B - in more than 600 women studied, could be used to predict when a woman would enter the menopause.

For example, the level of AMH almost disappears five years before a woman has her final period.

By then, there are likely to be so few eggs that the woman is unlikely to be very fertile.

Clinicians have previously measured these hormones but were not able to relate changing levels to fertility or to a menopause end point because of a lack of data.

Team leader Professor MaryFran Sowers said: 'The information provides a road map as to how fast women are progressing through the different elements of their reproductive life.'

'People really want information about how long do I have and when will I have my final menstrual period.

'Now we are beginning to say, 'If you have a specific FSH level combined with your age, this is the likelihood that you are in this reproductive stage.'

'We finally have numbers from enough women evaluated over a long time period to describe the reproductive ageing process.'