World Menopause Awareness Month | Menopause during the pandemic

The menopause, and the years preceding it (perimenopause) can provoke a number of challenges.

For one, there are over 30 different menopausal symptoms, which can make it difficult to distinguish whether symptoms are caused by menopause or other health conditions. Conditions, which are often mistaken for menopause (and vice versa), include thyroid disorders, fibromyalgia, and depression.

Menopause also presents differently across individuals, for example Indian women have been found to experience menopause earlier than British women, and Asian women are less likely to report severe symptoms overall when compared with African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic women. Some women also report experiencing more psychological symptom patterns, such as depression, anxiety, and brain fog, whereas others suffer more from genitourinary symptoms, such as vaginal dryness, painful sex, and loss of libido.

Because menopause can vary from person to person, this can make treating menopause especially tricky. This is because, aside from the typical presentation of hot flushes and night sweats (i.e. vasomotor symptoms), women also present with a variety of symptoms that are not commonly associated with menopause, including digestive issues, allergies, itchy skin, irregular heartbeat, and electric shock sensations.

Research shows that menopausal women are less likely to seek help for their symptoms, even when they become debilitating. There are numerous reasons why women do not access help for menopause. Some being practical in nature, for example, work and family-based commitments can make it difficult to attend doctor’s appointments during rigid GP opening times. Other evidence emphasises how taboo beliefs about the menopause can act as a barrier to help-seeking: a survey, by the British Menopause Society, found evidence that many women felt too embarrassed to discuss intimate symptoms with their doctor, particularly when a female health-provider was unavailable. Additionally, because of the nature of this condition, many women view the menopause as a natural transition that does not require treatment, and this philosophy acts as a barrier to healthcare in itself.

However, menopause onset can often coincide with a number of long-term health conditions, including osteoporosis, heart disease, and depression. Leaving severe menopause symptoms untreated for long periods of time can lead to poorer quality of life, which can exacerbate health issues. What is more worrying is that menopause has also been associated with suicide-risk, and evidence, from the Office for National Statistics, verified that UK women, between the ages of 51 and 54, are more likely than any other female age bracket to commit suicide. Incidentally, the average age to reach menopause in the UK is 51.

With these issues in mind, it is highly important to seek out solutions, which encourage menopausal women to promptly seek medical treatment, as and when they need it.

During Covid 19, more people are choosing to engage with online information sources. Symptom checkers are becoming increasingly important for those who think they may be experiencing perimenopause or menopause. This is because symptom tools can help women identify whether their symptoms could in fact be menopausal, and they can provide women with greater education on their symptoms, which can enable them to confidently discuss them with their clinicians. 

I have been researching the influence of online health tools on menopausal health outcomes. In collaboration with Health & Her, an online website geared towards supporting menopausal women, a key feature of the site is the online symptom checker (healthandher.com/symptom-tool/).

As part of my research, I surveyed symptom checker users and found that the tool increased medical help-seeking, communication with health professionals, and health awareness. Many women stated that their symptoms had improved since using the tool, and these women related these improvements to becoming empowered to seek help for their symptoms.

Respondents also described how they were coping with the menopause during Covid-19, many women had chosen to engage more with online tools and internet-based information sources as they faced increasing barriers to face-to-face health care.  Participants also reported becoming more health conscious during the pandemic and hailed the symptom tool as a trusted educational resource.

This study demonstrates a need to focus medical research on evaluating the use of online health resources, and this need has become especially relevant in light of the pandemic, as health provision shifts towards digitalised formats.

Despite its disadvantages, menopause can also be viewed as a milestone which brings forth more freedom and greater opportunities. Menopause marks the end of periods, which also means an end to PMS and worries about getting pregnant. Many women report feelings of empowerment and confidence after menopause, as often this event coincides with greater financial stability and fewer family-based commitments, giving them more time to focus on themselves and what makes them happy.

However, for those who need it, digital health tools could provide a means of accessing prompt and relevant health information, which in turn can inspire them to seek timely medical help and feel more in control of their menopause journey.

Robin Andrews is a Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships funded Doctoral Researcher at University of South Wales.