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National Institutes of Health State-of-the-Science Conference Statement: Management of Menopause-Related Symptoms
- NIH State-of-the-Science Panel*
- From the Resource Center for Minority Aging Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, California; Center for Outcomes and Evidence, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, Maryland; Sutton Group—Solutions for Social Change, Washington, DC; University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas; Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California; New York Medical College, Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, Bronx, New York; Wynee Center for Family Research, University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, New York; Institute of Gerontology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Crozer Chester Medical Center, One Medical Center Boulevard, Upland, Pennsylvania.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus and state-of-the-science statements are prepared by independent panels of health professionals and public representatives on the basis of 1) the results of a systematic literature review prepared under contract with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), 2) presentations by investigators working in areas relevant to the conference questions during a 2-day public session, 3) questions and statements from conference attendees during open discussion periods that are part of the public session, and 4) closed deliberations by the panel during the remainder of the second day and the morning of the third. This statement is an independent report of the panel and is not a policy statement of the NIH or the federal government.
The statement reflects the panel's assessment of medical knowledge available at the time the statement was written. Thus, it provides a “snapshot in time” of the state of knowledge on the conference topic. When reading the statement, keep in mind that new knowledge is inevitably accumulating through medical research.
Menopause is a natural process that occurs in women's lives as part of normal aging. Many women go through the menopausal transition with few or no symptoms, while some have significant or even disabling symptoms. Menopause is defined by the World Health Organization and the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop (STRAW) working group as the permanent cessation of menstrual periods that occurs naturally or is induced by surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation. Natural menopause is recognized after 12 consecutive months without menstrual periods that are not associated with a physiologic (e.g., lactation) or pathologic cause. Menopausal transition often begins with variations in length of the menstrual cycle. The hormonal changes during the menopausal transition can span several years.
The following 3 periods or intervals were defined by experts at the STRAW …
