Ovarian removal is not associated with an increased risk of death
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Women who are removed by the uterus during a hysterectomy often have their ovaries removed. Until now, scientists have suggested that the removal of both ovaries in a woman increases the patient's risk of dying from diseases caused by premature aging. But a new major study demonstrated that this procedure can be safe.
Ovaries synthesize the main female hormones - estrogens, which regulate menstrual function. Removal of the ovaries almost immediately leads to the development of menopause.
Catherine Henderson, the author of the study and associate professor of the National Medical Center in California, said the study was to determine whether bilateral removal of ovaries causes an increased risk of death, including heart disease, cancer, and other causes.
"In some groups of women, such as a history of breast or ovarian cancer, the benefit of early menopause is justified," Henderson said. "However, in most cases, we do not know how early menopause affects a woman's health."
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in 2007, 20,000 American women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and nearly 15,000 died of this disease.
According to a study by Henderson, between 2000 and 2004, 600,000 uterine removal operations were performed. In more than half of cases, the ovaries were also removed.
Analyzing data from more than 130,000 people, scientists found that the likelihood of death of women aged 45 and older, who had both ovaries removed, is the same as that of women who did not undergo this procedure.
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