Those with ‘debilitating’ menopause should have option of hormone therapy: review

More women suffering from "debilitating" symptoms of menopause should be presented with the option of hormonal therapy, according to a paper published in the CMAJ on Monday.

More women suffering from “debilitating” symptoms of menopause should be presented with the option of hormonal therapy, according to a paper published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) on Monday.

“There’s a whole constellation of menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms, some of which can be extremely debilitating, especially to what is relatively a young woman in our day and age,” said Dr. Iliana Lega, an endocrinologist at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and the paper’s lead author.

“Every day we see how few women are asked about menopausal symptoms (and) are informed about the treatment options and we just feel there’s an ongoing need to improve education on this topic,” she said.

Women in their 40s and 50s are raising children and could be at the peak of their careers while trying to live with distressing symptoms, she said.

“Having disrupted sleep, having frequent hot flashes, having irritability and mood issues has a huge impact on their day-to-day,” Lega said.

Menopausal hormone therapy, also known as hormone replacement therapy, has been a controversial issue since the 1990s, when a major study found an association with higher rates of breast cancer and stroke.

But many experts now say that study overstated the risks, which were mainly associated with women over 60 — when the risks for those conditions would go up anyway due to age.

Lega and her co-authors reviewed more recent studies and found the risks are much lower for women in their 40s and 50s, especially if they use hormone therapy for five years or less.