Why is 39 used as the cut-off age for the diagnosis?
Many researchers will say that 39 is an arbitrary cut-off point. If we refer to C. Coulam’s study again, she states that the incidence rate in the 40 to 44 year age group is more than 10 times larger than in the 30 to 39 age group. Since there is such a great increase in the 40 to 44 year old age group this seemed a natural cut-off point. Although this is the landmark study, you may hear some researchers say that Premature Ovarian Failure occurs before the age of 35. Or, in yet another study the age of 44 was used because when large populations of women are studied, 95 percent of all women will stop menstruation after age 44.
