I Read Through Google’s Menopause News Alerts So You Don’t Have To
A monthly roundup of menopause news
Menopausal hormone therapy (also called hormone-replacement therapy, or HRT) might improve cholesterol; women’s health–related supplement sales are soaring for menopause-focused products; and—shocker—there are enormous gaps in menopause care. It’s the monthly roundup of menopause news!
Taking hormone-replacement therapy/menopause hormonal treatment may reduce the risk of heart disease.
This study, presented at the 2024 Annual Meeting of The Menopause Society last month, looked at two groups of people: those who’d had hysterectomies and were taking estrogen therapy and those who still had uteruses and were taking estrogen and progestin. Over six years, the researchers identified in both groups a reduction in participants’ overall cholesterol and an increase in their “good” (HDL) cholesterol. Insulin resistance was improved, as well.
In less amazing news, the study also found triglyceride levels rose—triglycerides are fats that can increase your risk of heart disease. In theory, they merely provide energy when you need it. In practice, you can have too many of them stored (due to diet, lack of exercise, heredity, and probably stress, because I think stress can exacerbate any potentially problematic condition) and that excess can contribute to heart disease.
Still, if you aren’t as worried about triglycerides, there are more potential benefits to HRT. For example, taking estrogen can improve the elasticity of your menopausal blood vessels, which can in turn reduce “bad” cholesterol (LDL) levels and boost “good” ones. Cheng-Han Chen of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center (who was not involved with this study) pointed out that as estrogen levels drop in perimenopause, people are vulnerable to the resulting changes…like arterial plaque buildup, higher cholesterol, and rising blood pressure. All of which can spell heart disaster! Er, heart disease.
Anyway, using HRT to cautiously increase estrogen levels might let us moderate these side effects somewhat. Or even improve cardiovascular outcomes? We’ll see. Study author Matthew Nudy of Penn State Hershey Medical Center allowed that the research suggests a cardiovascular benefit to taking hormones.
He also, however, pointed out that the famed Women’s Health Initiative hormone-therapy trials (the ones that led to a sudden cessation of prescribing hormone treatment for perimenopause due to fear of increased stroke and breast cancer risk) did not find a reduction in heart-attack risk and did suggest a potential increase in stroke risk.
I’ll say that since starting on hormonal birth-control pills, my HDL and fasting blood-sugar levels have dropped, as has my overall cholesterol. My triglyceride levels, however, have risen.
More people want “natural” perimenopause treatments, it seems—perhaps because menopause is actually a topic of mainstream conversation these days.
A report from The Vitamin Shoppe (it’s fancy and legit because of its spelling—none of that quackery and pseudo-science here! Just a good old-fashioned Shoppe of the Finest Health Wares) on health and wellness trends found that—for the first time ever—the top five of those trends included items from the “Women’s Health for Ages 40+” category. Which, wow. (Am I being sarcastic? Not even I know for sure. Women’s health: It’s a confusing shitshow!)
I’m not sure if it’s the decreasing (fingers crossed) stigma of menopause, a growing expectation from perimenopausal women that their physicians will offer treatment (and a corresponding disappointment/fury when that treatment is limited or nonexistent), or the ongoing decline of societal faith in evidence-based treatments, but it doesn’t surprise me that this category of supplements is seeing enormous growth.
Hilariously, a vice president of supplement company Bonafide Health described menopause as a “niche market.” One of Bonafide’s newer products for this tiny niche (perhaps it’s the same size as the audience for “women’s stories”) is a hot-flash treatment called Thermella. Unlike the new hot-flash drugs marketed by Bayer and others, Thermella, of course, contains no actual pharmaceuticals.
Also, the name Thermella just makes me imagine Cinderella having an arsonist sibling.
News at 11: There are gaps in menopause care!
Shocking! A study published in the journal Menopause found menopause symptoms often aren’t documented or treated.
Of 229 women who reported hot flashes in a primary-care setting, fewer than 23 percent had those reports documented in their electronic medical records.
“This study highlights gaps in menopause symptom documentation in the electronic health record and in treatment of symptoms,” said study author Stephanie Faubion, medical director for The Menopause Society. “Additional efforts are needed to educate women and the healthcare professionals caring for them on the importance of identifying and treating bothersome menopause symptoms in the primary care setting.”
We’ve heard this tune before. Play it again!
Yours in end-of-year exhaustion (it’s only October!),
That Hag
Two (Actually) Helpful Exercise Areas to Explore in the Week Ahead:
1. Anything weight-bearing. This is a massive category, from Classic 1980s (jogging) to Classic 1990s (the elliptical) to Classic Childhood Dreams (gymnastics). Also things I’m willing to do, like walking, dancing, and yoga. According to the current big names in menopause health, good bone density is super important, particularly as women enter the perimenopausal and menopausal times. So break out that (in my case, dusty) resistance band, go for a lunchtime walk, or—if it’s more your style—leap into a HIIT extravaganza of burpees, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers.
2. Anything that helps your balance. I went down a terrifying google rabbit hole of “osteoporosis + falling” and the terrible consequences that can result. Don’t go down that rabbit hole. Just know that having good balance is a great idea! Instead of googling “osteoporosis statistics,” google “exercises for balance.” Not that you shouldn’t inform yourself about osteoporosis at some point, of course, but…maybe for this week just concentrate on improving your balance.