Susan Hendrix, D.O., WSU professor of obstetrics & gynecology, recently served on a National Institutes of Health state-of-science panel that issued a statement stressing that menopause must not be viewed as a disease. The panel, which Dr. Hendrix helped to plan and served as a speaker for, found that many women move through the menopausal transition with few disabling symptoms. The tendency among women and their healthcare providers in the U.S. to medicalize menopause concerned the panel because the tendency can lead to overuse of treatment approaches that are known to carry serious risks, or whose safety is as yet unclear.

However, many women, particularly those with surgically induced menopause, do experience significant symptoms that greatly diminish quality of life. For women whose menopausal symptoms are severe and persistent, the panel found nothing as effective as estrogen therapy for alleviating those symptoms. Low-dose estrogen has been shown to be effective for many women, although some require larger doses to relieve hot flashes. Concerns about the risks associated with estrogen use may rule out this treatment option for some groups of women.

The panel cautioned women to carefully weigh their personal risks and potential benefits before starting treatment, noting that for some women whose symptoms create a serious burden on daily life, the benefits of symptom relief may outweigh the risks. In addition to learning more about safe use of hormones, the panel urged further research into non-hormonal treatment approaches.

To view an archived webcast of the conference sessions or the full text of the panel's draft statement, please visit http://consensus.nih.gov/ta/025/025MenopauseINTROpostconf.htm.