One of the senior authors, Anna Murray from the University of Exeter was quoted as saying, “The principle aim of our study was to improve our understanding of the biological processes involved in female reproductive aging, which has been a difficult area of study.”

The researchers studied the genes of 201,323 women of European ancestry, and found 290 loci associated with age at natural menopause.

These genes, they believe, could impact when menopause occurs from a few weeks to more than three years. And even though 290 is a lot of genes, the researchers believe it represents only about a third of the genetic variation in age at menopause, and about 12.5 percent of the overall variation. The researchers also found that different groups, such as women of Asian and East Asian ancestry, had different frequencies of these genetic variations.

What is exciting about this research is that knowing when you are going into menopause will empower you to take a bit more control over your work and family planning, and that will be empowering. The authors believe that predicting you are at risk for early menopause may be possible in the not too distant future.

And then what???

Imagine being able to alter slightly the way these genes work for a short period of time and avoiding infertility treatments, or being able to anticipate early menopause so you can prepare for some of the associated risks such as an increased risk of diabetes, osteoporosis, and depression.  This study is clearly only the beginning of what will be possible in the not too distant future.

Curious how much your menopause symptoms are affecting you? Take this one-minute MenopauseQuiz.com.