Opinion: Halle Berry, Naomi Watts and others highlight an important women's issue
But here's the exciting part! You don't have to endure the struggles of perimenopause like women have for ages. There are methods to cope with it.
Perimenopause, the stage of hormonal and physical adjustment before menopause, isn't well-known even by women and society. Sadly, this stage often goes undiagnosed and untalked about. Thankfully, that's starting to change. Women are no longer silent about their perimenopause experiences, and their voices are being amplified and heard. However, what's crucial is to raise awareness among women and their healthcare providers about potential symptoms and ways to manage them.
One of the major challenges is that perimenopause and menopause can be tough for doctors and healthcare providers to treat effectively. One solution is hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
In 1998, a study on hormone replacement therapy, known as the Women's Health Initiative, shifted how hormones were viewed by doctors everywhere. The study reported that combined estrogen and progesterone hormone replacement therapy increased the risk of heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer in women. Shockingly, the study also claimed, "Overall health risks exceeded benefits."
This study held immense significance since very few women were included in clinical trials. Until the mid-1990s, there was no mandate for women's inclusion in clinical research. Ironically, these same studies might not have existed. After 2002, HRT prescriptions plummeted. Hormones were prescribed only as a last resort. Some women were just told, "deal with it," since the dangers of hormones seemed too high. As a result, numerous untested supplements and bogus "cures" because popular, promising relief to those suffering from untreated perimenopause symptoms.
However, over the past 22 years, both the narrative around menopause and the data about HRT have changed.
There's been a cultural shift. Gen X and millennial women are refusing to suffer in silence. Actress Halle Berry, for example, said, "I'm in menopause, okay? The shame must go." She's not alone. Celebrities like Naomi Watts and Drew Barrymore are discussing not just their physical symptoms but also the misunderstanding and sometimes outright disregard from healthcare professionals about symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
These celebrities' voices are making a huge impact. Professionals in the healthcare world and public health know how critically necessary it is. Doctors like Dr. Jen Gunter have spoken out against shrugging off symptoms as merely psychological. And Dr. Tang's book is titled "It's Not Hysteria" because, for too long, women's health issues, like menopause, have been dismissed as anxiety-related. But slowly, media outlets are reporting what menopause specialists have been saying: The hormonal changes during perimenopause can have just as much of an impact on the mind and body as puberty.
Additionally, the science on hormone replacement therapy has evolved.
Researchers soon realized that the data on HRT was more complex than initially suggested. In fact, in May 2020, some of the same people who published the 2002 article offered an update: "Hormone therapy is effective in treating moderate to severe vasomotor and other menopausal symptoms." After two decades of tracking the enrolled study participants, these scientists could now see that the benefits of HRT likely outweigh the risks. Notably, this benefit-risk ratio is especially true for women in their 40s and 50s, when the severity of perimenopause symptoms is at its peak.
In the last 20 years, doctors and researchers have learned that different kinds of hormones or different modes of taking hormones can be beneficial. For instance, transdermal estrogen (an estrogen patch) doesn't seem to cause blood clots. And vaginal estrogen is not widely absorbed, so it has no significant effect on cardiovascular disease or clot risk. Research has also shown that vaginal estrogen can be used safely in many breast cancer patients. Plus, a non-hormonal drug called fezolinetant (Veozah) has been approved to treat hot flashes in women who prefer or can't tolerate hormonal treatments.
We're excited about this scientific progression. We applaud the National Institutes of Health and the Women's Health Initiative for continuously working on finding the best evidence-based solutions.
More action is required.
*This text has been paraphrased for flow and readability. The original text was all about perimenopause and hormone replacement therapy, so I shifted the focus to the cultural shifts and new scientific breakthroughs.
- Estás inscrito en el boletín de opiniones de CNN.
- Únete a nuestra cuenta en Twitter y FacebookEstamos muy felices de ver a Berry no sólo compartiendo sus propias experiencias sino también apoyando la ley bipartidada que destinaba $275 millones para la educación y ensayos clínicos sobre menopausia y terapia hormonal. La Casa Blanca ha lanzado un nuevo Instituto de Investigación en la Salud de las Mujeres y ha solicitado a entretenimiento $12 mil millones para obtener un buen ciencia sobre los problemas de salud de las mujeres. Estos esfuerzos serían realmente transformadores.
También animamos a las mujeres a compartir datos y la ciencia en evolución entre sí. Aunque no hay un remedio mágico, los síntomas son reales. Para aquellas de nosotros que realmente necesitan tratamiento, existen opciones seguras y efectivas. Esperamos que las noticias recientes que declaraban que los riesgos del tratamiento de menopausia hormonal fueron sobrestimados permitan nuevas discusiones entre los profesionales de la salud y las mujeres premenopáusicas acerca de las opciones disponibles y qué opción podría ser la mejor para cada persona.
También esperamos que todos recuerden cómo importante realmente es la ciencia de la salud de las mujeres.
Read also:
- This will change in December
- Dikes withstand water masses so far - Scholz holds out the prospect of help
- Fireworks and parties ring in 2024 - turn of the year overshadowed by conflicts
- Attacks on ships in the Red Sea: shipping companies avoid important trade route
Despite the 1998 study suggesting potential risks associated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), recent evidence suggests that the benefits of HRT may outweigh the risks for women experiencing severe perimenopausal symptoms. This shift in perception is in part due to the voices of celebrities like Halle Berry and Naomi Watts, who have publicly discussed their struggles with perimenopause and challenged the stigma surrounding women's health issues. These voices have prompted healthcare professionals and researchers to reevaluate their understanding and treatment options for perimenopause and menopause. Consequently, there is a growing recognition of the impact of hormonal changes during perimenopause on both the mind and body, leading to increased research into safer and more effective treatment methods.
Source: edition.cnn.com
