Why do we say that Premature Ovarian Failure occurs in women under the age of 40?
In 1986 Carolyn Coulam (et al) published an article “Incidence of Premature Ovarian Failure.” Since that time it has remained the standard by which researchers fix the incidence for Premature Ovarian Failure. She did the study in Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic. Medical records of women who lived in Rochester, Minnesota, who were seen for medical care at the Mayo Clinic in 1950, and who were born about 1930 were followed from 1950 through 1986 for the age at which natural menopause occurred. She discovered that natural menopause before age 40 is unusual because the incident rate in the 40 to 44 age group was more than ten times larger than in the 30 to 39 year age group.
