The menopause goldmine – and, above all, perimenopause – reaches hundreds of billions of dollars in consultations, medications, procedures, products, and services, as I had pointed out in my book: Menopause – the time to make the right choices for the rest of your life. The problem is that, like in any gold rush, there are not only well-intentioned people in this market that has exploded in recent years.
It is great that awareness about this phase and the safety of treatments like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has increased. However, as a growing number of women encounter misleading information on social media, experts warn that some may be led to false conclusions capable of masking underlying real health issues. Paula Briggs: “I see absurd things on Instagram, like women in their 30s being instructed to demand hormone replacement if they can't sleep or if they are suffering from migraines” Disclosure “Everyone thinks they are in menopause,” remarked Dr. Paula Briggs, a member of the British Menopause Society, to The Guardian newspaper.
“We are seeing increasingly younger women demanding hormone replacement when what they actually need is hormonal contraception, since they are still fertile,” she added. According to the organization, more than 80% of women will reach menopause by age 54 – meaning they haven't menstruated for 12 months – with about 5% reaching this milestone before age 45.
Before that comes perimenopause, which can last months or years, a period marked by fluctuating hormone levels and symptoms with the potential to affect quality of life. Briggs stated that misinformation surrounding perimenopause is concerning: “I see absurd things on Instagram, like women in their 30s being instructed to demand hormone replacement if they can't sleep or if they are suffering from migraines; or being advised to seek testosterone treatment, when it is essential to evaluate if there is an indication for the case. Women produce their own testosterone throughout their lives, even those without ovaries, so the idea that everyone has to use testosterone is crazy.”
Channa Jayasena, a reproductive endocrinology specialist at Imperial College London, also expressed concern. “I think many doctors completely ignore how debilitating the symptoms can be.
However, there is a risk that some women are incorrectly labeled as being in perimenopause when they have other health issues.” Janice Rymer, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at King's College London, agrees: “If you are having regular periods naturally, then you are not in perimenopause.
Simple as that. Currently, there is a perception that any complaint between 40 and 60 years old is due to perimenopause or menopause and that HRT is indispensable.
Replacement is wonderful, but not for those who don't need it,” she summarized. Both emphasize that misinformation can lead still-fertile women to stop using contraceptives, thinking they are no longer necessary.
In the US, doctors have also been warning about the aggressive marketing of products and supplements making grand promises without scientific evidence. Anyone in this age group must have noticed: lotions, serums, and LED masks guaranteed to rejuvenate the face and neck; dietary supplements claiming to do everything from improving mood to alleviating hot flashes; devices promising to neutralize symptoms. In an interview with CNN, Nanette Santoro, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Anschutz, recommended: “Before spending money on products, it is important for women to talk to their doctors about what has been proven to help, and what can be harmful.
It really pays to be very, very, very skeptical.” Adriane Fugh-Berman and Patricia Bencivenga, respectively director and special projects manager at PharmedOut – an organization linked to the Georgetown University Medical Center whose focus is to investigate and expose the marketing tactics of the pharmaceutical industry – published an article in the journal STAT accusing the market of “selling the lie that women are ruled by their hormones.”
According to the authors, there is an expansion of the medicalization of menopause into the 30s, under the argument that hormones are starting to get out of control and will ruin your health: cognitive, physical, and mental. “Recent articles and seemingly endless conversations on social media attribute every possible symptom associated with stress, motherhood, burnout, depression, and normal aging to perimenopause.
They also frame this perspective as a feminist issue. In reality, it is the exact opposite.
Framing perimenopause as a long, terrifying physical and emotional rollercoaster caused by our unstable hormones is being shaped by influencers and doctors who are not only turning middle age into a disease, but invariably selling some product or service,” they wrote. Fugh-Berman and Bencivenga argue that most symptoms attributed to perimenopause may simply be a result of aging.
In 1994, Dutch researchers compared middle-age symptoms between men and women and discovered that, except for excessive sweating, there were more similarities than differences between the genders. In 2018, Korean scientists found similar results: both men and women presented complaints such as forgetfulness, sweating, decreased sex drive, and increased waist circumference in middle age. “If we accept the list of 100 symptoms attributed to perimenopause, and that this phase begins sometime in the 30s and lasts until menopause at the average age of 52, then we accept the idea that women are helpless victims of erratic hormones for most or all of their adult lives.
The narrative helps the revenue of manufacturers, handlers, and distributors of medications and supplements, but it is not evidence-based. And it feeds the misogynistic cliché that women cannot be trusted because of their hormones,” the authors emphasize, reminding that adopting a healthy lifestyle, taking care of mental health, and cultivating a support network of friends and family are fundamental tools for women's well-being. How to face menopause?.
Sign in to comment on this article.
No approved comments yet.