Menopause is a big transition in every woman’s life. During the menopausal transition, a woman’s menstrual cycle becomes irregular and eventually ceases. This happens because your ovaries are making less estrogen, a female sex hormone. How does this change in hormones impact women with hormone imbalances? If you have polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a health issue related to an excess production of male sex hormones, this may be a question that you’ve asked yourself. It’s an important question and one that women deserve answers to. So, let’s do some digging to find out.

Does PCOS cause early menopause?

PCOS does not make the onset of menopause come any sooner. (Menopause occurs when you haven’t had your menstrual cycle for a full year.) In fact, women with PCOS tend to reach menopause later than women without PCOS, according to healthline.

How much later do women with PCOS experience menopause?

The extent to how much later women with PCOS experience menopause is not entirely conclusive. A 2017 study published in Climacteric suggested that women with PCOS may experience menopause two years later than non-PCOS women. A 2018 research study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica found that women with PCOS reached menopause four years later than their counterparts. It’s safe to say that women with PCOS tend to experience menopause two to four years later than non-PCOS women.

Why does this difference exist?

Research suggests that this delayed menopause has to do with the fact that women with PCOS have higher anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels and ovarian antral follicle count. These higher levels appear to be related to better ovarian reserves, which “refers to the reproductive potential left within a woman’s two ovaries based on number and quality of eggs,” according to an article by Women & Infants Hospital. This has led to the thought that women with PCOS may have a longer reproductive life span and later menopause.

Does menopause cure PCOS?

If PCOS women have a hormone imbalance and menopause changes hormone levels, could menopause cure PCOS? Unfortunately, no. PCOS is a lifelong health problem.

How does PCOS impact menopause?

People with PCOS will experience the same symptoms of the menopausal transition as women without PCOS. The degree of these symptoms can vary between women with PCOS and those without the syndrome, however.

Some symptoms may be experienced to the same degree or even less severely. A 2018 study published in Menopause concluded that women with PCOS do not experience worse hot flashes than non-PCOS women. And a 2021 study published in J Midlife Health found that PCOS women experienced fewer “hot flushes” than their counterparts.

Some menopausal symptoms may be worse for PCOS women. The same 2021 study found that “vaginal dryness was more often reported in postmenopausal women than in controls.”

Menopause has at least one benefit for PCOS women. Irregular periods are a hallmark of the syndrome. But for PCOS women, periods become more regular as they approach menopause, according to Medical News Today.

If you have PCOS, it’s important to know how different life stages will affect your health. For more information on how menopause may impact your hormones and symptoms, speak to a doctor. Every woman deserves to have support and access to knowledge, especially during big life changes.