Menopause Society Practice Exam

In primary ovarian insufficiency, estrogen replacement is used to protect bones, heart health, and quality of life while the woman would have been naturally menopausal. The duration of therapy is therefore aligned with the time until the age at which menopause would normally occur. That point is the average age of natural menopause, which is about 50–51 years. So continuing hormone therapy until that average age makes sense: it covers the years of low estrogen and then can be reassessed as menopause would begin in most women around that time. Choosing a fixed age like 60 would extend therapy longer than typical need and may unnecessarily increase long-term risks. Taking it for life ignores the natural transition that happens around menopause. While age 50 is close to the average, stating it as the exact end point ignores the population-wide variation around the average. The phrasing “the average age of menopause” best captures the intended endpoint for therapy duration in POI.