What’s going on: Women between the ages of 45 and 60 are not only a force at the polls, they make up 30% of the workforce. But they’ve either been overlooked or misunderstood — especially when it comes to their health. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) made a bid to change that on Wednesday when she spearheaded the first-ever congressional hearing on menopause. Speakers pushed for better recognition of the condition and called for more federally funded women's health research. Nearly one in three US women over the age of 40 experience severe menopause symptoms, but over 80% don’t seek medical care. These symptoms often lead women, who are typically at the prime of their careers during menopause, to scale back at work or retire early, resulting in an estimated $5.4 billion economic loss per year.
But “the change” is happening elsewhere: Menopausal women are documenting their experiences online, breaking down that pernicious stigma. And while some doctors are taking the message to TikTok, research still has a lot of ground to cover. Ohio State just landed a $3 million Department of Defense grant to explore how menopause affects veterans. Other studies found that similar to pregnancy and puberty, menopause rewires our brains. At the hearing, several speakers mentioned how more research needs to be done on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), which has shown signs of reducing heart disease and a few other chronic health issues, yet only 5% of women use it. But HRT is only one option, and it doesn't work for everyone. As Sen. Gillibrand noted, we've "barely scratched the surface" on finding solutions for menopause's many symptoms — and if it affected men, it would probably get the Viagra treatment.
