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Menopause transition
El Khoudary SR
The menopause transition and women's health at midlife
The menopause transition and women’s health at midlife: a progress report from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)
Why Does Herstasis Love This Paper?
If you’re wondering, “are my symptoms normal?”, this paper can help you decide where you stand compared to other women experiencing the menopausal transition.
- The paper uses the data from the SWAN study (a groundbreaking US longitudinal study of mid-life women) to summarize the individual symptom experiences of diverse (Black, Chinese, Hispanic, Japanese, White) women.
- The study looks at many different symptoms and physical changes including vasomotor symptoms, sleep complaints, psychological symptoms, cognitive performance, urogenital and sexual health symptoms, cardiovascular and cardiometabolic health, bone health, and physical system functioning and performance.
- The study provides good summary tables of their findings including whether the different symptoms and physical changes of the menopausal transition are likely to be temporary
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Abstract
Objective:
This paper uses data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). SWAN was started in 1996 with an overall goal to define the menopausal transition, to characterize the biological, psychological and social events prior to and following the menopausal transition in an ethnically and racially diverse (Black, Chinese, Hispanic, Japanese, White) sample of midlife women. This review summarizes the findings of SWAN to date that can inform women and their healthcare providers about the impact of the menopausal transition and midlife aging on overall health and well-being.
Results:
SWAN data has informed:
- The development of the reproductive aging staging system Staging of Reproductive Aging Workshop+10.
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- Understanding of menopausal transition-related symptoms and mental health (vasomotor symptoms, sleep complaints, psychological symptoms, cognitive performance, and urogenital and sexual health); and
- Understanding menopausal transition-related physiological systems and functions (cardiovascular and cardiometabolic health, bone health, physical and physiological function performance) that are influenced by the MT.
SWAN has demonstrated that these changes are linked and that there are significant racial differences among midlife women in the number and severity of menopausal transition symptoms. The findings point to midlife as a critical stage for adopting behavior and preventive strategies for healthier aging.
Conclusions:
Over the past 23 years, SWAN has advanced our understanding of the impact of the MT and midlife aging on health and well-being in women. SWAN continues to be instrumental in driving research on menopausal transition-related changes during midlife.
Keywords
Aging
Symptoms
Women
Citation
El Khoudary SR, Greendale G, Crawford SL, Avis NE, Brooks MM, Thurston RC, Karvonen-Gutierrez C, Waetjen LE, Matthews K. The menopause transition and women’s health at midlife: a progress report from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN). Menopause. 2019 Oct;26(10):1213-1227. doi: 10.1097/GME.0000000000001424. PMID: 31568098; PMCID: PMC6784846.
Summary
- Differences in the experience of symptoms by women of diverse race and ethnic backgrounds.
- Hormone changes, and changes in menstrual cycle patterns.
- Women’s experiences with vasomotor symptoms, sleep complaints, psychological symptoms, cognitive performance, and urogenital and sexual health.
- Women’s experiences with cardiovascular and cardiometabolic health, bone health, physical function performance
- Provides information about changes to the reproductive axis (hypothalamus – pituitary – ovary interactions that control reproductive function); the menstrual cycle; and the stages of the menopausal transition
- Describes women’s experiences with multiple symptoms and mental health.
- Describes women’s experiences with changes to their body systems and functions
- Eight authors from multiple reputable institutions including David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Graduate School of Nursing, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California Davis School of Medicine.
- Funded by multiple credible sources including the National Institutes of Health (NIH); DHHS, through the National Institute on Aging (NIA); the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR); and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)
Related Symptoms & Therapies
About the Author
Eight authors from multiple reputable institutions including David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Graduate School of Nursing, and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California Davis School of Medicine.
Samar R El Khoudary, Gail Greendale, Sybil L Crawford, Nancy E Avis, Maria M Brooks, Rebecca C Thurston, Carrie Karvonen-Gutierrez, L Elaine Waetjen, Karen Matthews.
About the Source
Funded by multiple credible sources including the National Institutes of Health (NIH); DHHS, through the National Institute on Aging (NIA); the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR); and the NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH)
