British Menopause Society vision for menopause care in the UK

Abstract

More than half of women feel negative about their experience of the menopause New survey highlights impact of the menopause on every aspect of women's lives in the UK London, 18 October 2017: Three quarters of women say that the menopause caused them to change their life and over half say it had a negative impact on their lives*. Those are the headlines from a recent survey conducted by the British Menopause Society (BMS), released today to mark World Menopause Day. The findings reveal the need for greater support for women experiencing the menopause across the UK. Almost half said they had hot flushes (46%), night sweats (37%) and low levels of energy (37%). 1 Despite this, a third of the women surveyed who were experiencing or who have experienced the menopause, hadn't tried anything to reduce or prevent their symptoms. 1 The impact of this was revealed as having negative effects on most aspects of the women's lives, with the online survey highlighting the following:-Over half (51%) of women said that the menopause had affected their sex lives, with around 40% saying that they just didn't feel as sexy since experiencing the menopause. 1-Over a quarter of women (26%) said that they felt less outgoing in social situations and felt more isolated (23%). Over a third (34%) said that they were less active since experiencing the menopause and a further third (32%) said they no longer felt like good company. 1-Furthermore, almost half (45%) of women, whose menopause had a strong impact on their lives, felt their menopause symptoms have had a negative impact on their work. 1 The survey also revealed that the menopause remains a 'taboo' subject in the UK and something women and men don't always feel comfortable talking about. Nearly half of women (47%) surveyed who are in employment and who needed to take a day off because of the menopause said they wouldn't feel comfortable disclosing the real reason to their employer or colleagues.