For many, (including younger women, husbands, partners, and employers), there exists a broad perception that menopause is something that only affects women in their late 40’s to early 50’s and that this something they don’t need to be concerned with. Reasons given for this view include: “I’m too young, so no need to think about it now”; “menopause is a topic that is personal and private”; “it’s a natural cycle of life so you just have to get on with it” and “why do I need to know about it, it won’t impact on me”. I’m going to help explain why everyone should be menopause aware and perhaps break down some of those menopause misconceptions!

Studies show the average age of perimenopause* is 47.5 and it can occur naturally at any point between the ages of 36 to 49, with the average age of menopause itself occurring around 51. The perimenopause can last up to 10 years, but the majority of women will experience perimenopausal symptoms for between 4 and 5 years. The anecdotical evidence gained through speaking with many women in the course of my work, is that it is the minority of women who have experienced perimenopause free of any troublesome symptoms.   A wide range of physical and psychological symptoms (with 34 of them being widely acknowledged), can affect women with varying degrees of severity and frequency and with women having no real forewarning as to when they may begin, or which ones may affect them. I have spoken with many “younger” women who don’t realise that their perimenopause could begin as early as 36 and even more women who aren’t aware of the diverse range of symptoms that can occur. When asked to name menopause symptoms a majority of women mention hot flushes, brain fog, weight gain and mood swings. Few seem to realise that the list of symptoms extends much further and can be as diverse as increased anxiety, depression, bloating or tingling sensations in hands or fingers and dry eyes!

We never know what health issues we may face throughout the course of our life and when we might have to deal with them. This brings me on to other situations women may experience which could result in an early menopause.  POI (Premature Ovarian Insufficiency) and endometriosis affect 1/100 and 1/10 women under the age of 40 in the UK respectively. Both of these conditions are not easy to diagnose, with POI resulting in perimenopausal symptoms occurring in much younger women (teen’s, 20’s and 30’s). Treatments for endometriosis can range from taking hormones to block estrogen, to a hysterectomy or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) all of which can result in the onset of menopausal symptoms for women who are already trying to deal with a chronic condition.  Finally, in the treatment of a number of female specific cancers (such as ovarian cancer) via radiotherapy or chemotherapy, women will experience a medically induced menopause, again demonstrable of the fact that age is not always the determining factor for experiencing menopause symptoms.

As discussed above, there are a number of reasons why menopause may not just be applicable to women aged 51 or older, and there is a wide diversity and severity of symptoms that women may experience. A survey in February 2022 by Newson Health identified that 44% of women had 3 or more symptoms and were struggling to cope with these symptoms to the extent that they felt it impacted on their home and work lives. Therefore, it’s not unreasonable to assume that this will potentially be impacting upon a woman’s relationship with her spouse/partner and children. Likewise, if a woman is struggling for a prolonged period of time with symptoms that do not limit themselves only to when she is at home, then it is logical to assume that the manifestation of these symptoms may have a negative effect during a woman’s time at her place of work.

Being menopause aware, irrespective of your age, gender and your relationships with women will help to ensure that pre-conceived views relating to menopause are broken down.

(*the transition time between menopause symptoms starting and 12 months passing without a woman having a period