In recent Dr. Monica Christmas’s clinic, she has seen two types of menopause patients. Initially, she suffers from symptoms related to this lifespan stage, but she is also wary of hormonal therapy, as she hears there are health risks associated with it.
The second type of patient is almost the opposite. She may not have any symptoms at all, but she still wants hormones.
“We seem to like these extremes,” said Dr. Christmas, director of the University of Chicago’s Menopause Program Program and Women’s Integrated Health Center.
Prescription data reflects persistent anxiety about health risks: in research Released in Septemberresearchers found that in 2020, only 5% of women in menopause use the hormone, even though around 80% of women experience symptoms.
Conversely, over the past few years, social media influencers and celebrities like Oprah Winfrey have been growing, loudly supporting hormone therapy and presenting it as a “magic elixir.”
“Now there’s this message that every woman in menopause should get hormone therapy,” she said. However, women need to be more clear about what hormone therapy can and cannot be done. “We have to find a way back to the centre.”
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