The connections between general and reproductive senescence and the evolutionary basis of menopause

Abstract

We consider the relationship between the factors responsible for the general biology of aging and those that specifically influence the aging of the reproductive system. To understand this relationship it is necessary to be clear about the evolutionary forces acting on both sets of factors. Only in this way can the correct causal connections be established. Of particular significance is the existence in some species of a distinct period of postreproductive life. This is most striking in the case of the human menopause, for which a particular combination of biological and sociobiological factors appear to be responsible.