Menopause challenges women in business

	Tweet

In a survey of 622 menopausal female executives, the great majority indicated that symptoms related to menopause were causing problems in their daily lives.

The top three menopausal symptoms were hot flashes, night sweats and insomnia, experienced by 84 percent, 77 percent, and 72 percent of women, respectively. Fifty-two percent of women experiencing both night sweats and insomnia felt that menopause was worse then expected.

The findings come from the second annual Menopause at Work survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, involving members of the National Association of Female Executives.

"We found that hot flashes and night sweats are experienced most frequently and that menopause-related sleep insomnia is most bothersome,” Dr. James A. Simon of George Washington University and past president of the North American Menopause Society told Reuters Health.

Eighty-eight percent of women with menopause-related insomnia said they often felt tired at work, 62 percent said they were irritable, and 44 percent felt they were not performing at the top of their game.

“It’s not surprising,” noted Dr. Simon, “that women experiencing night sweats are losing sleep, but it is interesting to see how much sleep is being lost—three or more hours per night—and what impact it has on women during the day—fatigue, irritability, decreased performance at work.”

Furthermore, “It was also interesting to learn that 31 percent of women said that menopause-related insomnia adversely affects their romantic lives as well,” he added.

Some women sail through menopause with no symptoms and some have a more difficult time with it, Dr. Simon explained. “There are approximately 52 million women approaching menopause and about one third of women will experience moderate to severe symptoms that disturb their daily lives.”

Women, Dr. Simon said, need to know that there are therapies available to lessen the symptoms of menopause and “each and every woman deserves individualized attention and an approach to treating symptoms that is tailored just for them. The best advice I can offer is to talk to your health care provider about your symptoms.”

RELATED STORIES:
Pill Among Least Effective Birth Control Methods   70 percent of women use contraceptives during their first sexual encounter   Long-term contraception more effective than pills   Gay couples and women over 40 to get free IVF treatment on NHS   Health secretary urges contraception compromise   Contraceptive ring, patch carry blood clot risks   Reminder Stamp Boosts HPV Vaccination   Study adds to evidence on clot risks of non-oral contraceptives   HPV vaccine completion rate among girls is poor, getting worse   Some ob-gyns cite religious conflicts over care   After IVF, some couples get pregnant without help   Web Tool Offers Map to Menopause   Early Menopause Could Also Mean Early Death   Does soy help cool hot flashes after all?   Caffeine not tied to worsening urinary incontinence

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]