MENOPAUSE - State of the art 13/ed.

Culture is a socially shared, trans-gcnerationally communicatcd, system of implicit values, beliefs and attitudes, and explicit bchavioural codcs of practice (Krocber & Kluckhohn, 1952). Culture is not static; it is affected by educational, economie and politicai factors, and is subject to transrormations, such as 'modernization or "fundamentalist' revivals. This transformation is applicable to ali culture and by no means restricted to Islamic culture. Menopause literally means cessation of the men- strual function and occurs at an average age of 50. In the Western world menopause occurs at a median age of 51.4 years with a discribution ranging from 40 to 58 years. Some womcn may reach menopause as early as age of 30s and others as late as their 60s (Fallahzadedeh H, 2007). It is a single event along a broader complex of changes known as the climacteric, that was probably an evolutionary adaptation essential for survival in the Pliocene (Shan LM and Show LS, 2009). The process commences as an accclerated decline in female tertility, usually from the fourth decade of life, culminating in a total cessation of reproductive capacity for those surviving.