Poor sleep and associated problems during the menopause transition

“The Menopause Transition: Signs, Symptoms, and Management Options”

Menopause and perimenopause have been picked up by mainstream news recently. For the next two weeks the daily doctor will breakdown the Endocrine Society’s 2021 article on this topic:¹

The article presents a “mini-review” of “758 published epidemiologic, population-based studies, and studies of reproductive physiology […]”

“[…] to discuss the basic pathophysiology of the menopausal transition and the hormonal and nonhormonal management of clinicopathology attributed to it”

So what does the Endocrine Society say about Menopause Transition?

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Select quotes from the article:

“A survey of more than 12 000 women in SWAN showed that nearly 40% of women reported difficulty with sleeping that correlated with timing of the menopausal transition but remained independent of age“.

“[…] the pattern of sleep disturbance appears in the early menopause transition but peaks in the late transition and levels remain generally unchanged through postmenopause”.

“Women who report sleep difficulty may have associated factors, including depression and anxiety, smoking, obstructive sleep apnea, and lower physical activity”.

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But interestingly also:

“The Penn Ovarian Aging Study, after 14 years of follow-up of midlife women, concluded that only a small proportion of women experience sleep difficulties directly related to ovarian decline”.

and

This menopause-associated sleep disturbance is not fully explained by increased nocturnal [vasomotor symptoms; ed, hot flushes and night sweats] […]”.

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1. Santoro N, Roeca C, Peters BA et al. The Menopause Transition: Signs, Symptoms, and Management Options. J Clin Endocrinol Metab, 2021; 106(1): 1-15.