Mature women’s health: an equity issue

Menopause is a quality of life issue.

Imagine -

You’ve hit your stride in your midlife. You’re balancing obligations – family, career, friends and more.

Then it all falls apart.

All of a sudden, you break out into hot flashes during important meetings and social events. You start having mood swings you can't explain and your loved ones start to sidestep you at home. You can't sleep. You can't focus. And you feel like you have nowhere to turn.

This is what happens to millions of women worldwide: menopause

At Sinai Health, we understand that women face a new set of health challenges as they age.

It all starts with declining hormones during perimenopause, which can begin as early as the mid-30s or as late as the mid-50s. Hormones continue to decline through menopause – the point in time that a woman goes 12 consecutive months without a period – and post-menopause, the time following menopause when symptoms often subside but can linger for years.
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These symptoms range from conditions affecting the bladder, sleep, mood, bones and sexual health, to cardiovascular aging, hypertension, high cholesterol and cognition issues. Many treatments exist, but discussing these issues with family, friends, or even a medical professional can feel challenging. Why? Because of the stigma associated with menopause and aging.
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More women worldwide are entering perimenopause and menopause every year during the most productive times of their life. As many as 80 per cent will experience symptoms, and of those, 20 per cent will be severe. It’s critical that we take the fear out of this natural transition. Let’s send the message that suffering does not have to be endured. There is help.

That’s why we’re raising funds for the Centre for Mature Women’s Health. Sinai Health aims to spark a global shift in how menopause and women’s health issues are approached throughout the lifespan, and to address the entire spectrum of health challenges that women face as they age.

The numbers…

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A third of women 40+ say that they don’t know that treatment options exist for menopause and perimenopause.

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Only half of women 40+ have consulted their doctor about menopause/ perimenopause and pelvic floor disorders. And of them, only half were prescribed treatment.

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Almost half of women have not heard of pelvic floor disorders, yet 50% of women over age 50 will suffer from one.

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More than half of women 40+ haven’t to their doctor about menopause/ perimenopause symptoms, largely because they believe what they are experiencing is "normal”, they had no reason to or didn’t see a need.

90%

About 90% of Women 40+ say they are comfortable talking about their perimenopause symptoms with a doctor, yet less than half have actually spoken to their doctor about their symptoms.

Understanding the numbers.

To understand the consistent lack of information, access to treatment and stigma around discussing mature women’s health, Sinai Health Foundation worked with Nanos Research to conduct a survey of more than 1,200 women in Canada 40 years of age or older. Email Sinai Health Foundation for the full report.

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