Research shows that when the ovaries stop releasing eggs at the menopause, and the lining of the uterus no longer changes in preparation for a possible pregnancy, most women continue to make measurable and useful amounts of active sex hormones. The major source of oestrogen is chemical conversions that take place in fat tissue, hence the amount of body fat has a good bit to do with oestrogen levels in postmenopausal women. The brain and the adrenal glands (two small organs near the kidneys) also continue to produce hormones that control the reproductive system at this stage of your life. Like body weight, your genetic make-up is an important factor in the output of these hormones.
Overall, we produce relatively smaller amounts of oestro-gens, progesterone and androgens (a class of hormones that includes testosterone) after menopause than before it, and the balance of the various hormones changes. Testosterone, for example, becomes a more dominant hormone, even though less is produced after menopause than beforehand. The altered hormone balance explains some of the rapid and not-so-rapid changes to the body associated with menopause.
These hormones act on chemical structures called hormone receptors in many parts of the body. Their influence extends to the ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, cervix, vagina, vulva, skin, heart, blood vessels, liver, joints, bone, breasts, brain and urethra (the passage from the bladder to the outside). Various forms of oestrogen affect tissues such as the vaginal lining and the blood vessels in quite different ways. For each of us, changes in our hormone balance will be different, and consequently the effects will vary from woman to woman. Thus the increased prominence of testosterone after menopause may cause an increase in facial hair, altered libido (interest in sex), and a change in the distribution of body fat that is quite apparent to some women but goes almost unnoticed by others.
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