Kathryn Clancy wrote an entire book about menstrual cycles. But even she was surprised by some of the pre-menopausal symptoms she recently began to experience at age 44.
“A lot of things that have to do with my uterus, ovaries, and breasts, I have been massively underprepared for as a Ph.D.-level expert in this field,” says Clancy, a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. “That should tell you how even more underprepared most people are.”
Most people who menstruate will experience symptoms including hot flashes, brain fog, and changes to mood, sleep, and sexual function as they approach menopause, defined as the point in khbrknews a year after their last period. But that transition, which typically begins between the ages of 45 and 55, is so rarely discussed in society—and at the doctor’s office—that people often know nearly nothing about it in advance. One 2023 study of post-menopausal women found that almost none of them had learned about menopause in school, and about half of them “did not feel informed at all” about the life stage.
But there are signs that menopause is finally going mainstream, as both the medical and business worlds get serious about the needs of the million-plus people in the U.S. who reach menopause every year. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2023 approved Astellas Pharma’s drug to treat menopausal hot flashes, and pharmaceutical giant Bayer is currently developing a similar medication. Some companies are beginning to offer menopause benefits to their employees. Lawmakers have pushed for more research on menopause. And a flurry of menopause-focused startups have launched in recent years to supplement traditional care, since studies suggest a significant portion of people going through menopause are not treated. The company Alloy, for example, connects patients to menopause specialists via telehealth and sells wellness products targeted toward those going through the transition.
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