We need a more grown-up conversation about the menopause

Menopause artwork

Daria Kirpach

SOCIETY takes a keen interest in women’s bodies, especially during their fertile years. Yet when the menopause comes around, the conversation goes quiet. Aside from trivial quips about hot flushes and “the change”, menopause remains taboo.

This isn’t simply men skirting around the issue. A recent survey found that half of UK women go through the menopause without consulting a doctor. Why? Over a third of them believed it was something they just had to put up with. If women suffer in silence, it’s unsurprising that many are blindsided by the severity of their symptoms, especially problems with memory and concentration.

Advertisement

New research into these symptoms provides a wake-up call that menopause amounts to a lot more than hot flushes. The changes echo some of those seen later in life, in both men and women, as the brain succumbs to Alzheimer’s (see “How menopause and Alzheimer’s change the brain in similar ways”).

Rather than being depressing news, the findings should lead to menopause and its attendant health problems being taken more seriously. They may even be a cue for more grown-up conversations about a phase of life that affects us all, one way or another.

This article appeared in print under the headline “Welcome change”

More on these topics:


🕐 Top News in the Last Hour By Importance Score

# Title 📊 i-Score
1 14,000 years ago, the most powerful solar storm ever recorded hit Earth. 'This event establishes a new worst-case scenario' 🟢 85 / 100
2 Gabbard signals shift in U.S. intelligence collection priorities 🟢 85 / 100
3 Attempt to reach expert consensus on teens and phones ends in argument 🔴 75 / 100
4 SAG-AFTRA Files Unfair Labor Practice Complaint Against Epic Games Due To A.I. Darth Vader 🔴 72 / 100
5 Argentina's farmers describe 'sea of water' after downpour hits harvest 🔴 65 / 100
6 Brits living in Spain warned of new changes to laws starting tomorrow 🔴 65 / 100
7 US Open’s $800m renovation to include ‘spa-like’ locker rooms 🔵 45 / 100
8 What downgrade? U.S. stocks and borrowing costs stay largely flat after Moody's action 🔵 45 / 100
9 Police Investigating Death of Emilie Kiser's 3-Year-Old Son 🔵 45 / 100
10 Katie Price opens up about her dramatic weight loss after sparking concern from fans 🔵 38 / 100

View More Top News ➡️