About half of the 1.2 million women (12% of the population) who are currently going through menopause in Portugal "report discomfort" during this phase, according to a study by the health insurance company Médis, whose conclusions were released today.

This is "the longest of all the phases of women's health, taking up, on average, 40% of their lives" and "it is also the phase in which they suffer the most: about half of women report discomfort during this phase, which, when compared to the discomfort displayed during puberty (20% of women), is 140% higher, and when compared to the discomfort displayed during maternity (12% of women), is 300% higher".

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The research continued the study, carried out through the Médis Health project and released in 2022, "Health and well-being of Women, a Potential to be achieved", delving deeper into the topic of menopause.

Carried out over "27 months", the work was based on "245 quantitative interviews, five reference groups and four in-depth conversations with health professionals", with 33 women between the ages of 45 and 65 being interviewed.

"We live in a society that is not prepared to talk openly about menopause and even hides it. This clashes with the need, which we hear from the mouths of most of the women we spoke to, which goes precisely in the opposite direction, that is, they want and need to expose, without taboos, symptoms, fears and anxieties about the subject", warned Maria Silveira, responsible for Strategic Orchestration, Health Ecosystem of the Ageas Portugal Group, to which Médis belongs.

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The research complements the medical and scientific classification of menopause, which divides it into three phases - perimenopause, menopause and post-menopause -, and "taking into account the vision and feelings of women (subjectivity)" associates four "states of mind" to the process: ignorance, suffering, management and liberation.

According to the study, the menopause phase is "very little valued and talked about" also by "doctors and health professionals", despite being associated with "more than 30 symptoms" and 72% of women between 45 and 60 years old living in a permanent state of tension and 50% stating that they have already had exhaustion or depression.

On the other hand, the fact that it is not "thought or prepared (unlike maternity and menstruation), increases the difficulty" in its management.

According to the research data, 52% of women say they are poorly or moderately prepared to deal with this phase of life.

The "most manifested discomforts" are hot flashes (69%), joint pain (49%), night sweats and/or sleep disturbances (48%), anxiety (45%), vaginal dryness (42%) and decreased libido (37%).

"At a professional level, 65% of women who are in this condition feel discrimination at work and 22% have already thought about changing or leaving their job".

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As for "liberation", it is considered that, although it is a phase that is little talked about, it should be highlighted, since despite the fact that "some of the symptoms can last more than a decade, most of them end up fading" and "only 20% of women say they have had symptoms for more than five years".

"Menopause is not a disease, but a condition. Being different from woman to woman, there are as many menopauses as there are women, which also makes it difficult", said Maria Silveira, quoted in a statement about today's initiative "Listening and giving voice to Menopause", to disseminate the study and which included a round table.

The person in charge therefore says that "listening to these women, guiding them and giving them a voice is, in itself, an excellent 'medicine', in addition, of course, to holistic monitoring (gynecology, psychology, nutrition, physical exercise)".

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