Health · Medical Research · 1 hr ago
Large Study Finds Sudden Body Changes Around Menopause
Researchers analyzed more than 300 million lab tests from over one million women in the United States and Israel.
They found sudden changes around the final menstrual period in several body systems, including bone health, liver and kidney function, blood chemistry and blood fats.
In the US data, 52 of 90 types of tests showed a statistically significant change.
The researchers used a method intended to separate the effects of age from the timing of menopause.
They argue the findings show menopause is a sharp, body-wide transition rather than a gradual part of aging.
Some experts caution that describing it as a cliff could cause alarm and that the study does not show a dramatic decline in health or mental wellbeing.
The study is observational, so it shows patterns in the data but cannot establish what causes them.
A study using more than 300 million lab tests from over one million women found abrupt physiological changes around menopause.
The researchers reported sudden shifts across several systems, especially bone metabolism, liver tests and blood fats.
In the US dataset, 52 of 90 laboratory tests showed a statistically significant sudden change associated with menopause.
The study’s authors described the transition as a “step-like physiological cliff,” but an outside expert said that wording could be alarming and was not demonstrated by the findings.
- Who
- Researchers led by molecular cell biologist Glen Pridham at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
- What
- A study found abrupt changes in many laboratory measures around menopause.
- When
- The study was published on 2026-10-12. It examined changes around the final menstrual period.
- Where
- The study analyzed cohorts in the United States and Israel.
- Why
- The researchers aimed to distinguish chronological age from reproductive timing, which they said had complicated earlier studies.
Study authors
Martha Hickey
Description of menopause
Study authors
The authors describe it as a sharp, systemic transition, marked by a “step-like physiological cliff.
Martha Hickey
Hickey says the “cliff” description is potentially alarming and implies a dramatic decline that the study does not demonstrate.
potentially alarming for women and implies a dramatic physical and mental decline, which this study does not demonstrate.
This shows that systemic changes experienced during menopause could be predicted by hormone changes much sooner than originally thought.
While prior longitudinal studies… have established bone loss and specific hormonal surges, the scale of this study, covering 90 types of tests, demonstrates that this transition is sharp and systemic
Anti-Müllerian hormone and oestradiol show signs of decline.
Follicle-stimulating hormone increases.
The cohorts show abrupt physiological changes across nearly all physiological systems.
ScienceAlert reports on the study published in Nature Medicine.
- Lab tests analyzed
- More than 300 million
- Women included
- Over one million
- Study cohorts
- United States and Israel
- Laboratory test types
- 90
- Significant sudden changes in US dataset
- 52 of 90 tests
Sources
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