Menopause before 40--premature, but not always permanent.

Seventy-five women with premature menopause presented to a reproductive endocrinologist over a 3-year interval. Thirty-five had an identifiable cause, usually a chromosomal defect, autoantibodies or cytotoxic chemotherapy. Forty had no apparent cause and of this group 5 conceived on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Overall, this group of oestrogen deficient women had spent nearly half of their menopausal years to date, not on HRT.