 |
 |
----------------------------------------------------------------------- Most Women Have Positive View Of Menopause ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WESTPORT, Sep 05 (Reuters) - Most women regard menopause as a positive experience and as "...the beginning of a new and fulfilling stage of life," according to results of a Gallup poll released on opening day of the North American Menopause Society meeting that convened yesterday in Boston. Gallup pollsters called 750 women between 45 and 60 years of age between June 25 and July 24, and 52% said that they viewed menopause as a positive event in their lives. Close to 80% said that cessation of menstruation came as a relief. Only 11% of the postmenopausal women surveyed felt that menopause was a negative experience. The Society's executive director, Dr. Wulf H. Utian, commented that the findings reveal "...a real change in attitudes about menopause." In the current Gallup poll, 40% of respondents said that they had discussed menopause with their healthcare providers and 60% had sought information through reading on their own. Four years ago, the North American Menopause Society commissioned a similar survey. At that time, fewer women said that they had sought information about menopause from their physicians or other sources. The vast majority of women, 87%, said that that they were satisfied with the quality of information on menopause that is available. Dr. Utian is quoted in a PR Newswire report as saying that "...there seems to be a trend towards American women receiving more information from both medical and nonmedical sources, as well as becoming more proactive in educating themselves about issues related to menopause." But he added that misinformation still abounds. For example, 15% of women associate menopause with a risk of Alzheimer's disease and 35% believe that menopausal women are at increased risk of cancer. Dr. Utian remarked that "...current evidence does not link menopause to an increased risk of cancer and studies are ongoing to determine the relationship between declining estrogen levels and Alzheimer's disease. Perhaps there is too much information for consumers, or the information women are receiving isn't clear or is confusing." Dr. Utian also emphasized that contrary to respondents' beliefs, there is no link between menopause and depression. The survey revealed that less than half, or 46%, of postmenopausal women receive hormone replacement therapy and that close to half or women on hormone replacement therapy say that the information available on HRT protocols is confusing. And Dr. Utian pointed out that "...sales of nonprescription remedies for menopause-related complaints are skyrocketing." Westport Newsroom 203 319 2700 Copyright 1997 Reuters Limited. <http://www.reutershealth.com/news/docs/199709/19970905clj.html> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [log in to unmask]