Menopause takes its toll for at least seven years

[oneh2obabe]

Women going through menopause may have hot flashes and night sweats that last for more than seven years, according to new research that debunks long-held theories that symptoms are mostly short-lived.

The study of women nationwide is the biggest examination of how long menopausal symptoms last, the authors said. Among the more than half of women who have frequent symptoms in mid-life, menopause lasts for 7.4 years on average. Symptoms can go on much longer for black women and Hispanic women, according to the research published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.

According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, menopause is the permanent end of menstruation that comes after the loss of ovarian activity. The average age of menopause in North America is 51 years. Previous estimates suggested menopause symptoms lasted six months to two years, the group said in a January 2014 Practice Bulletin.

“The duration of the symptoms is much longer than traditionally thought,” said JoAnn Manson, chief of the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, who wrote an accompanying editorial. “Many women have moderate-to-severe hot flashes, night sweats that interrupt sleep and adversely affect their ability to function and work and their social life. This is a real problem for many women.”

About 80 per cent of women experience menopausal symptoms and many say their hot flashes and night sweats are moderate to severe, according to the paper.

Full article
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/ ... -says.html

[Fancy]

Women going through menopause may have hot flashes and night sweats that last for more than seven years, according to new research that debunks long-held theories that symptoms are mostly short-lived.

Whoever said they were short-lived - should have short-lived.

[Lady tehMa]

Huh, I was told "up to 10 years, and there have been cases of 12 . . ."

[Carrs Landing Viking]

Menopause for me was very mild and short lived. Some women are not so lucky.

The long and the short of it is, we are all different.