Gonadotropins and prolactin serum levels during the perimenopausal period: correlation with diverse factors*†

We studied 490 women aged 35 to 55 years randomly selected from the urban population of Leon, Mexico. The mean age for the onset of menopause, calculated with a probit regression was 48.5 years. The median of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) increased with the rate of menopause women, but the 10th percentile for both hormones did not increase above 15 IU/L in older groups. Meanwhile, prolactin did not change. In menopause women FSH correlated positively with cigarette smoking, and negatively with body mass index. Luteinizing hormone had negative correlation with the number of pregnancies. Most symptoms studied were not associated with menopause or gonadotropins levels, except hot flushes, and the empty nest syndrome. It was concluded that during menopause, FSH increases with the smoking habit, and decreases with overweight.