How is menopause experienced at the time of Covid? Overwhelmed by the need to defend themselves and their family from contagion, for many women symptoms such as hot flashes and insomnia have faded into the background and so those who have found themselves entering this new phase of life in the last two years of the pandemic have often neglected the possibility of asking the doctor for help. In fact, many women – regardless of Covid – tend to underestimate this delicate passage as emerges from the research of the Onda Foundation, the National Observatory on Women’s and Gender Health, which investigated the perception and experiences that Italian women associate with menopause.
The most common symptoms (in half of women)
The survey ‘Menopause in the life of women’, carried out by the Elma Research Institute with the unconditional contribution of Theramex, was conducted on a sample of 315 women aged between 44 and 65, through Cawi interviews lasting 15 minutes. Although one in 2 women say they entered menopause easily and with adequate medical support, 37 percent say they had a decidedly negative impact and felt alone in facing this phase of life and little followed at a level. doctor. Furthermore, more than 50 percent of women in climacteric complain of symptoms such as headaches, sleep disturbances and fatigue, while more than 1 in 2 menopausal women suffer moderately or severely from decreased desire and sexual pleasure, increased weight, joint and muscle pain, hot flashes and sweating.
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Tos’s most popular natural remedies
Despite this, almost half of women in this phase do not resort to any remedy to deal with it, making the most of food supplements (27 percent) and herbal products (17 percent); only 5 percent resorted to hormone replacement therapy (Tos). Menopause is considered as a natural phase of life (43 per cent) in which it is not necessary to take drugs if not essential (48 per cent), because there is also fear of possible side effects (35 per cent). “It is comforting that half of Italian women enter menopause naturally, but it is a shame to note that many others suffer from disabling symptoms without really effective help from the doctor”, she comments Rossella Nappiprofessor of Gynecology and Obstetrics and head of the highly complex menopause center of the Irccs Policlinico San Matteo – University of Pavia.
When hormone replacement therapy is needed
Although 80 percent of women have heard of Tos and one in 2 perceive it as a supportive therapy for menopause, there are still strong barriers: “Research is providing us with very safe, hormone-based therapies. identical to those that the woman had before going through menopause, to better combat hot flashes, night sweats and sleep disturbances that have a significant impact on daily life and the sense of well-being “, continues Nappi. “In particular, it is important to know that today it is possible to customize the type and duration of therapy to minimize any risks that have been significantly reduced by recent studies and to obtain numerous preventive benefits on the bone, cardiovascular and cognitive side in all women. , especially if in menopause before the age of 50 “.
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Diet therapy for extra help
One of the most difficult consequences of menopause for women to accept is weight gain and the great difficulty in losing weight. “A healthy lifestyle with proper nutrition and regular physical activity help to avoid the main nutritional consequences related to menopause”, says Maria Grazia Carbonelli, Director of the Dietology and Nutrition Unit, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, Rome. “Weight changes, increased visceral fat with repercussions on blood sugar and cholesterol, water retention, muscle fatigue, osteoporosis are conditions that can make use of adequate diet therapy and possible supplementation with specific products to deal with menopause. at best. Consultation with a dietician in addition to the gynecologist favors a complete approach to the health of the woman in this phase of life “.
The role of information
The survey also revealed that 84 percent of Italian women believe they have a medium-high level of information on the subject of menopause. The main sources of information are represented by friends and family (71 per cent) and by professionals, gynecologist (67 per cent) and general practitioner (36 per cent), and by websites (53 per cent). In particular, women turn to the doctor especially when they are approaching the period of entry into menopause and mainly to talk about the impact it will have on physical well-being (67 percent) and the therapies and remedies to reduce symptoms (68 percent) .
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“The survey highlighted numerous cultural barriers that make it more difficult to deal with this particular moment in a woman’s life,” she explains Francesca Merzagora, president of the Onda Foundation. “For this reason it is essential to support women with adequate information on what they should expect from menopause and also on how they can cope with it in order to experience it to the fullest. The gynecologist and general practitioner have a fundamental role both in being able to provide information. that it is clear and not alarmist both in favoring access to hormone replacement therapy which, according to the survey, is offered to 1 in 4 women “.