Amenorrhea Causes

Amenorrhea is a medical term used for describing the condition, characterized by the absence of menstrual period in women of reproductive age. Usually, women stop menstruating for the duration of pregnancy, after menopause, and if their ovaries or uterus have been removed surgically. Absence of menstrual cycle under these conditions are quite normal and therefore, physicians always rule out these possibilities before considering other feasible causes of amenorrhea.

Basically, you will find two forms of amenorrhea, primary and secondary. Primary amenorrhea refers to the condition, where a girl has never skilled menstrual period by the age of 16 years. In other words, primary amenorrhea is a condition, where menstrual cycle never starts. Secondary amenorrhea around the other hand, refers to the cessation of menstrual cycle in a woman who was menstruating previously. There can be different causes for these two types of amenorrhea. Below here are some in the most common amenorrhea causes.

Amenorrhea Causes

As has been mentioned already, you will find two forms of amenorrhea and both can have distinct causes. Primary amenorrhea is far more commonly congenital and caused by genetic and chromosomal abnormalities, also as developmental defects of the reproductive tract. On the other hand, secondary amenorrhea is far more often associated with hormonal fluctuations, premature menopause, intake of specific drugs and other wellness conditions.

Primary Amenorrhea Causes
Primary amenorrhea more often results from genetic and chromosomal defects. It can be the condition, ‘gonadal dysgenesis’, where there is premature depletion from the follicles and egg cells. This results in premature failure in the ovaries, and in that case ovulation and menstruation cannot take place. Around the other hand, women with Turner syndrome do not have all or a portion of one with the two X chromosomes. This prevents the normal development with the ovaries and so, leads to primary amenorrhea and premature ovarian failure.

The hypothalamus, which is present at the base from the brain plays a crucial role inside the regulation of menstrual cycle in women. So, disorder in the hypothalamus can sometimes manifest as amenorrhea. It’s known as functional hypothalamic amenorrhea. Some in the main risk factors or doable hypothalamic amenorrhea causes are, eating disorders including, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, also a lot of physical and physiological stress and excessive or vigorous exercising.

Like hypothalamus, pituitary is another gland that controls the menstrual routine, and so, conditions such as, tumor or any kind of invasive growth inside the pituitary gland can lead to amenorrhea. Some other feasible causes of primary amenorrhea are, lack of specific reproductive organs such as, uterus, vagina or cervix, congenital adrenal hyperplasia and polycystic ovary syndrome. Moreover, structural abnormalities of the vagina can also result in amenorrhea, as it can block the movement of blood from your uterus and cervix.

Secondary Amenorrhea Causes
Pregnancy is perhaps the most common cause of secondary amenorrhea, though it truly is not a disease or disorder. But amenorrhea and pregnancy may not be interrelated. Other than pregnancy, secondary amenorrhea can have many other causes like, the utilization of contraceptives. Generally, if a woman stops taking contraceptives, she may possibly take a few months, about 3 to 5 months to resume her menstrual cycle. Like oral contraceptives or birth control pills, particular medications like, antidepressants, corticosteroids and chemotherapy drugs can also cause amenorrhea. Sometimes, amenorrhea can be experienced by breastfeeding mothers too.

Like primary amenorrhea, secondary amenorrhea can also result from excessive weight loss and too considerably exercising. It has been observed that both low body weight or low body fat, and strenuous physical activities can interrupt menstrual routine in women. Similarly, too significantly of mental stress can have an effect on menstruation. It has been observed that prolonged and excessive mental stress can adversely affect the functioning from the hypothalamus, which in turn, can stop menstruation temporarily. Some other common causes of secondary amenorrhea are, hormonal fluctuations caused by polycystic ovarian syndrome, an underactive thyroid gland or hypothyroidism, and development of tumor inside the pituitary gland.

Apart from these, two other achievable causes of secondary amenorrhea are, uterine scarring and primary ovarian insufficiency. Sometimes, scar tissues can develop inside the uterus, specifically after uterine procedures like, cesarean section. Such a condition can prevent the build up, also as shedding from the uterine lining, leading to light or no menstruation. Primary ovarian failure or insufficiency, also known as premature menopause can stop the normal functioning with the ovaries quite early, usually before 40 years. This really is the reason why it truly is called premature menopause. In general, menopause occurs at the age of 45 to 55 years.

So, these were some from the doable amenorrhea causes. Most in the time, amenorrhea does not result from a serious underlying condition. However, sudden cessation of menstrual routine at an early age, as well as not been capable to get the first menstrual time period can be a troubling experience for any women. But, before coming to any conclusion, it is better to get the condition evaluated by your physician. This can support you to avoid unnecessary mental stress, and identify the underlying causes. Lastly, it needs to be kept in thoughts that your diet and lifestyle can have a great impact around the functioning of numerous body systems including, the reproductive system. Excessive diet restrictions coupled with vigorous exercising in an attempt to lose weight quickly can sometimes take a toll on your health and interrupt your menstrual cycle. Both obesity and also low body weight can disrupt your normal menstrual cycle. So, try to preserve an ideal body weight, and be positive to talk to your physician if you observe any kind of irregularities in your menstrual routine, or if you’ve not experienced the first menstrual routine till the age of 16 years.