ABSTRACT
The menopause is a biological event unique to humans. The average age of the menopause in western women is approximately 52 years, so with women living well into their 80s, they can now expect to live over a third of their life in the postmenopause. Consequently, over the last 50 years, there has been an increasing interest in the effects of the menopause on long-term health, its effects on quality of life, and its potential treatments. In evolutionary terms, the menopause was considered advantageous as it allowed women who were no longer fertile to look after their children's offspring and allow their children to continue breeding–the so-called grandmother effect. The increasing use of grandparents as childminders to allow the mother to return to work could be considered a modern adaptation.
