Sex differences in human physiology
Female fertility declines after age 30 and ends with the menopause. Female physical experiences vary depending on external forces such as diet, marriage patterns, culture, and other aspects. In Western nations menstruation begins to affect females at 13 and menopause starts around 51. In non-industrialized countries, on the other hand, most females begin menstruation at a later age. More lactation in the lifetime of non-western females inhibits ovulation and extends the number of fertile years. Pregnancy in the 40s or later has been correlated with increased risk of Down syndrome in the children. Males are capable of fathering children into old age. Paternal age effects in the children include multiple sclerosis, autism, breast cancer and schizophrenia, as well as reduced intelligence. Adriana Iliescu was reported as the world's oldest woman to give birth, at age 66. Her record stood until Maria del Carmen Bousada de Lara gave birth to twin sons at Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona, Spain on December 29, 2006, at the age of 67. In both cases IVF was used. The oldest known father was former Australian miner Les Colley, who fathered a child at age 93.
International Menopause Society
The Society's official journal, "Climacteric", the Journal of Adult Women's Health and Medicine, was founded in 1998 and is listed in Index Medicus/MEDLINE. The editors-in-Chief are Anna Fenton (New Zealand), and Nick Panay (United Kingdom). It publishes international, original, peer-reviewed research on all aspects of aging in men and women, especially during the menopause and climacteric. The content of the journal covers the whole range of subject areas relevant to climacteric studies and adult women’s health and medicine, including underlying endocrinological changes, treatment of the symptoms of the menopause and other age-related changes, hormone replacement therapies, alternative therapies, effective life-style modifications, non-hormonal midlife changes, and the counselling and education of perimenopausal and postmenopausal patients.