Collection 

Female reproductive ageing

Submission status
Closed
Submission deadline

Thanks to advances in education and healthcare, women around the world are delaying childbearing and living longer. This trend intensifies the need to understand and address the causes and consequences of female reproductive ageing, both for women who become pregnant relatively later in life and for post-menopausal women. Age brings a decline in both ovarian follicle number and oocyte quality. Oocyte ageing and the accompanying decrease in fertility may be characterized by impaired DNA repair, mitochondrial disfunction, and metabolic disorders, in addition to chromosomal abnormalities resulting from meiotic non-disjunction. Meanwhile, the timing of menopause varies widely between individuals. While this variation is associated with a range of genetic factors, the mechanisms underlying these associations is unclear. Menopause timing impacts not only fertility but also overall health, with early menopause linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, neurological disorders, and other conditions.

This Collection invites research on all aspects of female reproductive ageing, including its molecular causes and consequences and its epidemiological links to disease.

A model of the reproductive system of women between two palms on a blue and green background

Editors