Perimenopause and menopause requires a careful evaluation of symptoms and also a knowledge of mental health — and knowing when to ask for help from other health care professionals
For millions of women, perimenopause and menopause arrive gradually, and they often go unrecognized by patients and by the clinicians who care for them. New research suggests that gap is wider than many physicians might expect.
A recent survey of 1,000 women going through perimenopause or menopause found that only 28% said a clinician had proactively raised the topic with them. For most, the conversation either never happened or happened only after they brought it up themselves. That's a missed opportunity during one of the most significant life-stage transitions patients will experience.
The mental health aspects are especially interesting. One in three women didn't know perimenopause and menopause could cause mental health-related symptoms. Nearly half (49%) believed they were experiencing anxiety, and 39% thought they had depression. And 74% lived with symptoms for six months or longer before suspecting hormonal changes might be the cause.
Those numbers point to a larger problem: care that too often treats physical and mental health as separate tracks rather than parts of a single continuum. When symptoms are misattributed or overlooked, patients may endure months of distress, receive treatment that doesn't address the underlying cause, or disengage from care altogether.
Medical Economics spoke with Kristin MacGregor, PhD, National Clinical Director for Integrated Behavioral Health at LifeStance Health to look at what these findings mean for physicians in practice and how more proactive, integrated approaches can help identify perimenopause and menopause earlier and better support patients through the transition.
