Menopause: Symptoms are hardly caused by hormones

Larissa Melville completed her traineeship in the editorial team of . After studying biology at Ludwig Maximilians University and the Technical University of Munich, she first got to know digital media online at Focus and then decided to learn medical journalism from scratch.

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Munichsleep disorders, depressive moods, vaginal dryness and Co. - all these inconveniences are said to be due to hormonal changes during menopause. But that's apparently wrong: you are only responsible for two symptoms - hot flashes and sweats.

This is the result of Prof. Kerstin Weidner and her team from the Carl Gustav Carus University Hospital in Dresden. The researchers investigated the question of which of the “typical” menopausal ailments were actually due to the hormonal changes in the years before and after menopause. In 2014, the team asked around 1,400 women and 1,200 men between the ages of 14 and 95 about their physical complaints.

Mostly age problems

It was found that the physical symptoms increase with age, both in women and in men. The only thing women complained about more often during menopause were hot flashes and sweats - they can therefore be considered hormone-related.

Another symptom was age-dependent: vaginal dryness only occurred more frequently in women aged 60 and over. “But this is a normal aging process that can also be seen in other mucous membranes. This also changes the voice and the nasal mucous membrane becomes drier - with one more, with the other less, "Weidner explains to

50 percent show no symptoms

In addition, almost half of the women between the ages of 45 and 59 did not have any “climacteric” symptoms - although the hormone levels changed in all of them. "Our research has also repeatedly shown that all complaints occur at all ages," adds Weidner.

With regard to psychological problems, the scientists also found no connection with the hormonal balance. Whether someone suffers from depression, anxiety, irritability or the like seems to depend more on partnership, occupation, educational qualification and income. Even those who believe in being able to shape their own situation are better armed against mental disorders. "A general interpretation of menopause as pathological and a hasty attribution of the symptoms to the hormonal change are not tenable according to the results of the study," said Weidner.

Weigh hormone therapy carefully

Menopause occurs in women around the age of 50 and the body is subject to strong hormonal changes: it produces less estrogens, but more of the follicle-stimulating hormone. "This falling estrogen level not only explains hot flashes and night sweats, but also a whole range of symptoms and is therefore often treated with hormone therapy," reports Weidner. Hormone preparations work well against hot flashes and sweats. But taking them increases the risk of breast cancer, stroke, heart attack, thrombosis and other diseases.

Weidner therefore calls for an even more critical and individual use of hormonal therapy. “Temporary hormone therapy is only justified in the case of severe impairments, against which changes in behavior such as layered clothing for hot flashes do not help.” And only if the symptoms appear for the first time during the menopause and other psychosocial and physical causes or amplifiers are excluded. Ultimately, menopause is a typical threshold situation with physical, psychological and social changes, she adds. What is needed is an individualized treatment plan that is tailored to the specific needs of each woman.

Variety of alternative therapies

For menopausal symptoms and especially against hot flashes and sweats, there are other therapeutic options in addition to hormone preparations. Active ingredients such as venlafaxine, which works directly in the central nervous system, have fewer side effects. Furthermore, many women also rely on alternative approaches such as acupuncture, Schuessler salts or herbal medicines.

Source:

Press release of the University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden from March 27th, 2015

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