Ovary Removal in Younger Women

   Women under the age of 45 who are considering having their ovaries removed should be aware of the possible effects later in life.  Research out of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center strongly associates the removal of both ovaries with bone thinning and arthritis.  The findings come from an analysis of thousands of women who were participants in a government-backed national health study.
  Ovary removal, also known as an oophorectomy is quite common in the United States among women who have hysterectomies.  Every year about 300,000 women have both ovaries removed during the procedure. Once the ovaries are extracted, hormones like estrogen that are normally produced by the ovaries drop dramatically, quickly bringing on menopause.  Estrogens offer the body protection against age-related diseases and scientists have linked the premature loss of estrogens to a higher risk of developing conditions like parkinson's disease, dementia, arthritis and osteoporosis.
  In this latest study, researchers found women who had their ovaries removed before the age of 45 had about a 3-percent lower bone mineral density than women who had their ovaries in tact.  As for arthritis, the research showed nearly half of women who had an oophorectomy before the age of 45 reported an arthritis diagnosis compared to 32 percent of women who still had their ovaries.  Women who did not take hormone replacement therapy or HRT had even higher risks.  They were two times as likely to develop arthritis and three times as likely to experience low-bone mineral density.
  Hopkins researchers say the study doesn't suggest that women avoid oophorectomy but does indicate that those who have the procedure be monitored closely for early signs of low-bone mineral density to help prevent osteoporosis.