The 2001 Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop (STRAW) divided female repoductive aging into various stages.
Patient selection: healthy women with regular cycles during reproductive years
Status |
Stage |
early reproductive (starts with menarche) |
-5 |
peak reproductive |
-4 |
late reproductive (regular menstrual cycles but rising serum FSH) |
-3 |
early menopausal transition period (variability in menstrual cycle) |
-2 |
late menopausal transition period (onset of skipped cycles or amenorrhea of at least 60 days) |
-1 |
final menstrual period (FMP) |
0 |
early postmenopausal |
+1 |
late postmenopausal |
+2 |
Rahman et al used a somewhat abbreviated form.
Menstrual Cycle |
Stage |
minor changes in cycle length |
premenopause |
increasing irregularity of menses without skipping periods after a previously regular cycle |
early perimenopausal |
menstruation in the previous 2 to 12 months but not in past 3 months |
late perimenopausal |
no menstrual bleeding in the previous 12 months |
postmenopausal |
This means that the classification of postmenopausal is a retrospective diagnosis.
Specialty: Obstetrics & Gynecology