Although about half of the population goes through menopause, less than 15% receive effective treatment for their symptoms.
A review of over 70 years of menopause science highlights the gaps in research and need for individualised treatment that addresses both menopausal symptoms and other changes happening in the body.
The review, published today in the journal Cell, was conducted by a team of menopause experts from Australia, Italy, and the United States.
Treatment options for people experiencing irritating or severe menopausal symptoms are often under-researched, have questionable efficacy or cause harmful side effects.
‘The road to menopause is not difficult for all, but for some, symptoms may be severe or even disabling and disruptive to work and family,’ wrote the authors.
‘Recognition that menopause, for most women, is a natural biological event, does not exempt the use of interventions to alleviate symptoms.’
For this review, the researchers looked at over 200 sources across 71 years to understand what’s currently known about menopause.
Researchers noted the importance of recognising that menopause impacts more than just cis women but elected to use the term ‘women’ in this review to reflect the language and focus of much of the existing research in the field.
The study proposed a new definition for menopause as ‘final cessation of ovarian function’, an update to the traditional definition, which focused on menstruation.
The new definition seeks to cover people of all genders, as well as people who have irregular periods, use certain types of contraception like IUDs, have had hysterectomies, etc.
The timeline of when menopause phases occur is not well understood and varies from person to person. This makes it difficult to develop effective treatments.
The review also found that a lack of research on the long-term effects of menopause treatments. Even the most effective and well-researched option available presently, hormone therapy targeting estrogen, is still far from a perfect solution for all.
‘Women with bothersome menopausal symptoms should be counseled on treatment options and offered evidence-based therapies,’ they wrote.
‘Therapy should be individualized depending on age and health risks, recognizing that health risks may increase with age.’
The authors also highlight the importance of addressing the socio-economic factors that can impact the experience of menopause. For example, women who experience financial hardship or have less access to healthcare may be more likely to suffer from severe menopausal symptoms.
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