This video is a recording of the live webinar hosted by Mobile Health on 11 September 2023. Professor Bev Lawton discusses perimenopause symptoms, treatment options, disparities, and the importance of asking women about their experiences.
Menopause ma’ lady?
Approximately 80% of women experience perimenopause symptoms eg, hot flushes, night sweats, poor sleep, irritability, mood changes, difficulty concentrating, genitourinary issues and changes in sexual function. Of these women, 20% are severely affected with symptoms that may persist for ≥10 years.1
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) can greatly reduce vasomotor and genitourinary symptom severity and frequency, and can prevent bone loss and reduce fractures.2 For women with significant symptoms aged under 60 or within 10 years of menopause onset and without contraindications, the benefits of MHT usually outweigh the risks.2
In Aotearoa, Māori and non-Māori women have the same rate of self-reported vasomotor symptoms, yet Māori are much less likely to be dispensed MHT.3,4
Click here to watch the recording of our webinar with Professor Bev Lawton to learn more.
References
- Australasian Menopause Society. Information sheet: What is menopause? February 2016. www.menopause.org.au/images/stories/infosheets/docs/AMS_What_is_menopause.pdf Accessed August 2023.
- The North American Menopause Society. NAMS Position Statement. The 2022 hormone therapy position statement of the North American Menopause Society. Menopause: The Journal of The North American Menopause Society. 2022;29(7):767–94.
- Lawton BA, Rose SB, Cormack DM et al. The menopause symptom profile of Maori and non-Maori women in New Zealand. Climacteric. 2008;11(6):467–474.
- He Ako Hiringa. EPiC dashboard: Annual Report. https://epic.akohiringa.co.nz Data sourced from Te Whatu Ora, Pharmaceutical claims collection, 2023. Accessed July 2023.