"Persistence" improves the 60-day amenorrhea marker of entry to late-stage menopausal transition for women aged 40 to 44 years.
OBJECTIVE
The ReSTAGE collaboration evaluated four menstrual markers of entry to late-stage menopausal transition. The aim of this study was to assess the additional usefulness of "persistence" in relation to a clinically accessible menstrual marker of late menopausal transition, taking age into account.


METHODS
In this study, a secondary analysis of menstrual calendar data in two ReSTAGE-collaborating studies with comparatively low age at beginning of menstrual calendar observation was performed.


RESULTS
Sixty days of amenorrhea is as useful for predicting time to the final menstrual period as the currently accepted 90-day marker for women older than 45 years. For those aged between 40 and 44 years, recurrence of the 60-day marker within the next 10 cycles is a better indicator than a single occurrence of the 60-day marker or the 90-day marker.


CONCLUSIONS
Sixty-day amenorrhea is as reliable a marker of late menopausal transition as the traditional 90-day marker for women older than 45 years. For those aged 40 to 44 years, keeping menstrual records to check for a recurrence of the 60-day marker will be useful.
Taffe
John R
JR
Monash University Melbourne, Australia. john.taffe@med.monash.edu.au
Cain
Kevin C
KC
Mitchell
Ellen S
ES
Woods
Nancy F
NF
Crawford
Sybil L
SL
Harlow
Siobán D
SD
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000568:Amenorrhea; D015415:Biomarkers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008593:Menopause; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013997:Time Factors
D015415:Biomarkers