Article Round-Up: Menopause & Mental Health

Something exciting is happening…! As we come to the end of 2023, there is such a large number of articles and reports being produced about menopause and mental health, I can hardly keep up! It is so inspiring and encouraging to me to see the momentum building around this topic, both in research and practice, and in media coverage. Unfortunately, some of the articles continue to spread disinformation, which is a bit infuriating, but I’m going to focus on the positive. Here are three good reads I’ve seen recently.

From The Guardian: Millions of women are suffering who don’t have to’: why it’s time to end the misery of UTIs
This article talks about vaginal estrogen as a preventative measure against UTIs and other urological complaints common to midlife and older women. From a mental health perspective, it also discusses how UTIs can trigger or worsen serious mental health problems in older people. And as anyone who has suffered with chronic UTIs or other urological problems can attest, when those problems persist and go untreated (or unsuccessfully treated), it can have a negative impact on mood and increase stress and anxiety. Wonderful to see this issue addressed.

From Yahoo!Life: Menopause and anxiety: Claire Sweeney signs up to Dancing On Ice to fight ‘vulnerabilities’
In addition to being an inspiring article about a woman taking on an exciting new challenge to help combat her anxieties, this article raises awareness about how anxieties and insecurities can be impacted by midlife hormonal changes.

From ETHealthWorld: 80 per cent women believe menopause impacts their personal well-being: Abbott, Ipsos Survey
In Mumbai, Abbott’s "The Next Chapter” Initiative is encouraging conversations about menopause this year, building on narratives collected from women about their experiences in 2022. From the article: “Menopause may also lead to effects on a woman’s mental health and cognition, from depression and anxiety to irritability, poor concentration, sleep loss, and memory issues.” The surveys also gathered the opinions of husbands, 91% of whom feel that more women need to talk about their experiences regarding menopause to raise awareness.

It’s wonderful to watch the conversation around menopause grow and expand. I hope we’ll see more helpful, positive, informative articles like these in 2024.