Johns Hopkins Medicine’s Post

Looking forward to the upcoming Seattle screening of “The M factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause” - I have been musing about the attention finally being given to women across their menopausal years, as well as grappling with gaps in mental health care that continue to fall short for so many of us - and most urgently, for women of color.  During the peri-menopausal time period, mental health disorders can emerge due to hormonal fluctuations, just as they often emerge in the postpartum period. I started my Internal Medicine training in 2004 at New-York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia campus, in Washington Heights.  At that time, Internists did not frequently prescribe any hormonal treatment as the “risks of estrogen” perpetuated by the women’s health study lingered. We were also concerned about starting treatment for mental health out of legitimate fears of not being able to follow-up. I had to educate myself to prescribe anti-depressants and contraception as my female patients could not wait weeks or months for referral to OB-GYN or psych. Ninety percent of my patients were Dominican, Black, or multiracial. I could not lose them to our fragmented system. Their health could not afford them to be left out. Twenty years later we continue to face these issues in one of the most affluent cities in the United States. Women’s health care and basic mental health care are part and parcel of primary care, but providers are not given the capacity to address these needs.  I applaud my Internal medicine colleagues at the Women’s Health Clinic at the University of Washington for their dedication to providing comprehensive care.  Unfortunately the quality of our health care is now more driven by productivity rather than value-based (looking at patient outcomes). This has to change or our patients will continue to suffer. Remember the most marginalized women will always shoulder the biggest burden of poor health.  As the [M] factor highlights, menopausal symptoms are not considered seriously or addressed equally as they are in white women. Unmet needs and barriers continue to deprive women of timely appropriate care, effectively kicking them out of the system.  And their providers leave. It should be no surprise that we have the worst healthcare system of any industrialized nation, and a massive dearth of needed primary care providers who are not given the opportunity to provide what they have been trained to do. In those 15 minutes, please don't sabotage us from starting a conversation and creating connection. Connection itself saves lives. #TheMFactorFilm #menopause #ShreddingtheSilence #UniversityofWashingtonMedicalCenter #valuebasedcare

Women who enter menopause prematurely — before age 40 — face a significantly higher risk of death. However, timely interventions can make a difference! Read more in my latest for Medical News Today, with insights from Dr. Vanessa Soviero at Northwell Health. #womenshealth #gynecology #menopause

Stanford University has responded to the Lancet medical journal. The Lancet published a 4-article series on menopause this month where Menopause is repeatedly referred to as “overmedicalized” when in reality, the vast majority of women are left to navigate their perimenopausal and menopausal years with no medical guidance whatsoever. Women struggle to find healthcare providers who can partner with them to assess and treat their symptoms and accurately individualize treatment risks and benefits to maximize their long-term health. At Exeltis UK we believe that women deserve to be given choices and education to make informed decisions on what they believe is best for them. Empowering Women to better navigate their menopause is key. Women safety and life quality is at the center of everything that we do. #RethinkingWomenHealthcare

There has been significant media attention lately concerning 'over prescribing' and 'too high doses' of HRT, both creating a platform to restrict women's ability to access hormone therapy and control over their bodies. With less than 10% of women receiving menopause treatment and incorrect HRT doses being rare, it begs the question: Why the intense focus? Let's not get sidetracked by headlines and opinions. The real crisis lies in the lack of access to knowledgeable menopause providers and inability for women to get help. The fact that there is less than an hour of medical training for obstetrician-gynecologists, yet women spend more than 30% of their lives in this stage is curious. Furthermore, family physicians are not educated yet a significant number of their patients will be in this demographic or age into it. Once we tackle these issues, then we can address overprescribing and dose accuracy. In a world where guidelines based on quality research are vital but research on women is limited, and medicine is both art and science, let's keep our focus on increasing clinicians with education on menopause, helping women navigate perimenopause with clarity and access to appropriate treatments. Leaders in this space, let's unite in the true issues at hand: access to care for women in menopause. #womenshealthaccess #workingthroughmenopause Louise Newson Mary Claire Haver, MDHerMD https://lnkd.in/g5bt3ryH

As Wulf Utian said in one of the papers years ago, it is a pendulum swinging all the time. Going from one extreme to the opposite one. Prior to WHI everyone was on hormones, no questions asked, after the initial reports of the WHI. a big (unsubstantiated) panic ensued, everyone was off the hormones, not even thinking of starting. Then Susane Summers started promoting bioidentical hormones , as a "safe, natural" alternative, scammers took over. Pendulum swang the opposite way again. Following that a decade of silence, menopause being hidden, timidly talked about and for the last few years, it is getting proper attention again. Talk about hormone therapy as a first- line of treatment (as per global guidelines) is emerging again. We are finally getting proper attention and care. Then again, fear- mongering starts. It is never a win-win situation for #women's health. As with anything else, an individualized approach, dose adjustments, risk assessment , appropriate follow- up is needed. We all have a role to play. We owe it to our patients. Kudos to all supporting and promoting evidence- based approaches: Natalie Perkins, MSc., PhD Ms.Medicine OM - A precision health company Gender Fair: A Public Benefit Corporation Canadian Menopause Society The Menopause Society Let's Talk Menopause International Menopause Society (IMS) Menopause Foundation of Canada and many more https://lnkd.in/dhMvwWaj

🚀 This might be a small screening (for now) but, it is one giant leap for women (and man) kind. 👩🚀 💫 🌚 Breaking the silence on menopause is no small feat—but "The M Factor: Shredding the Silence on Menopause" is doing just that. 👏 This groundbreaking film has just become the first-ever broadcast to be accredited by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) for Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits. 🎥🩺 This is more than just a documentary—it's a crucial step toward transforming the way healthcare providers understand and treat menopause. On October 17th, a live CME webinar will allow over 1.2 million healthcare professionals to earn credits while learning about evidence-based menopause care. Thought leaders like Dr. Stephanie Faubion (Mayo Clinic) and Dr. Wen Shen (Johns Hopkins Hospital) will guide participants through the unique challenges faced by women, particularly women of color, during menopause. With over 100 screenings scheduled globally, "The M Factor" is sparking conversations that are long overdue and empowering women to thrive during midlife. 🌎💪 Kudos to the amazing producers and supporters behind this initiative—this is the kind of innovation that truly changes lives! 🗓 Mark your calendars for the CME webinar: October 17th. Let’s shred the silence together. #MenopauseMatters #CME #HealthcareInnovation #TheMFactor #WomenInHealth #MidlifeWellness #ContinuingEducation #EquityInCare Hormony ® (Prelude Health) FemTech Association Asia Femtech Mexico

📋Menopause profoundly impacts health, yet we lack sufficient data on its effects on aging and related diseases, as highlighted by Harvard University. Despite women living longer than men, over 75% of age-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause, contributing to physical, cognitive, and cardiovascular declines. ♂️Research predominantly focuses on male humans and animal models. Shockingly, 99% of preclinical aging studies overlook menopause and its impact on women's health, revealing a significant gap in scientific understanding. 🤷♀️To address this issue, it is crucial to recognize and rectify the limitations of current research models and evaluate the contribution of menopause to aging and disease. This requires dedicated funding and resources to bridge the existing gaps in scientific knowledge! https://lnkd.in/gwuq4DEW #Menopause #Femtech #MenopauseHealth #Midlife #MenopauseAwareness #MenopauseMovement  #MenopauseSupport #MenopauseRelief #Menowar #AllisonLewin Menopause Experts Group Limited

📋Menopause profoundly impacts health, yet we lack sufficient data on its effects on aging and related diseases, as highlighted by Harvard University. Despite women living longer than men, over 75% of age-related diseases are likely influenced by menopause, contributing to physical, cognitive, and cardiovascular declines. ♂️Research predominantly focuses on male humans and animal models. Shockingly, 99% of preclinical aging studies overlook menopause and its impact on women's health, revealing a significant gap in scientific understanding. 🤷♀️To address this issue, it is crucial to recognize and rectify the limitations of current research models and evaluate the contribution of menopause to aging and disease. This requires dedicated funding and resources to bridge the existing gaps in scientific knowledge! https://lnkd.in/gNHDnE5z #Menopause #Femtech #MenopauseHealth #Midlife #MenopauseAwareness #MenopauseMovement  #MenopauseSupport #MenopauseRelief #Menowar #AllisonLewin

DATA: MENOPAUSE & MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (MS) This is an area of interest for me as I have a number of women in the Vibrant Midlife Community who are living with MS and I am always seeking out solutions to support them This review summarizes current research on the effects of menopause in women with MS, including the psychological impact and symptoms of menopause on disease worsening, and the treatment options. It highlights the need for more inclusion of MS patients from underrepresented racial and geographic groups in clinical trials, including among menopausal women Take a read, let me know your thoughts & kindly share with others who need to be aware of this data #menopause #menopausesupport #multiplesclerosis #midlife #vibrantmidlife

Many companies have a commercial interest in portraying menopause as a “medical problem”, leaving women inundated with misinformation and pushed towards ineffective treatments, a series of papers published in international medical journal the Lancet has found. The findings have prompted leading doctors and researchers – including those from the US, UK and Australia – to jointly call for a societal shift that challenges inaccurate assumptions. A review of the medical literature on menopause, which was part of the series, found misguided or harmful attitudes towards menopause were often pervasive in high-income countries. These countries needed to learn from societies where ageing in women conferred respect and in which views of menopause were more affirming, the paper said, noting Indigenous communities in Australia considered menopause as less of a problem. Rather than assuming midlife depression was often caused by menopause, societies should “promote gender equity and safety across the lifespan since early adversity increases the risk of poor mental health at midlife”, said the paper, which focused on mental health during perimenopause. #womenshealth #femtech #healthtech #digitalhealth #healthcare #healthcareinnovation #startups #innovation #health #medtech #healthcareresearch #femalehealth #genderhealthgap #reproductivehealth #venturecapital #vc #funding #investment #grants #maternalhealth #periods #menstruation #sexualhealth #sextech #menopause #fertility #pregnancy #postpartum #eggfreezing #IVF #healthequity #pelvicfloor #pelvicfloorhealth #hormonehealth