Menopause
Menopause is not a disease and does not increase the risk of any disease, but many commercial interests stand to profit from medicalizing the menopause transition. On this page you'll find unbiased resources on menopause.PharmedOut encourages everyone seeking information on menopause to trust only industry-free sources of information.
Have suggestions for additional resources? Drop us a line at pharmedout@gmail.com and let us know what we should add!
Recent news:
Dr. Barbara Mintzes and Dr. Adriane Fugh Berman recently published an article, "Does menopause hormone therapy prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia?" in the BMJ’s Drugs and Therapeutics Bulletin where they dissect an error-filled review. They write that there is no evidence that estrogen prevents dementia and that estrogen-progestin drugs actually increase risk. The article, published on November 28, 2024, is linked here.
PharmedOut sent a letter to the Federation of State Medical Boards on November 8, 2024 demanding removal of CME credits from a menopause documentary rife with misinformation. Signed by 16 researchers, clinicians and women's health experts, the letter counters false and dangerous statements made in a documentary on menopause and hormone therapy that was accredited by the FSMB. Read coverage by STAT News here.
Her Turn (WORT, Madison, Wisconsin) radio show: Dr. Adriane Fugh-Berman was interviewed by Arlene Zaucha for the Her Turn (WORT, Madison, Wisconsin) radio show on misperceptions about menopause on December 10, 2023. The segment can be listened to here.
Resources
Series on Menopause from The Lancet
Published on March 5, 2024, this series of articles and perspectives considers how we can empower women as they age and transition through menopause.
An independent, NIH-funded website written by menopause researchers.
Menopause Informational Page from the National Institute on Aging
This site has information on issues related to menopause like hot flashes, sex and menopause, sleep problems, and how to stay healthy during and after menopause.
These fact sheets summarize the results of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN). SWAN is the only multi-ethnic long-term natural history of women before, during, and after menopause. They outline the major findings from SWAN on bone health, memory and cognition, hot flashes, sleep, depression, urinary incontinence, sexual functioning, and vaginal health.
How Did Doctors Not Know About the Risks of Hormone Therapy?
by Dr. Michael Greger from NutritionFacts.org.
Books
The Estrogen Elixir: A History of Hormone Replacement Therapy in America by Elizabeth Siegel Watkins.
The Menopause Industry: how the medical establishment exploits women by Sandra Coney.
The Greatest Experiment Ever Performed On Women by Barbara Seaman.
The Truth About Hormone Replacement Therapy by The National Women's Health Network.
Articles
Our Bodies Ourselves Today Sexuality Content Experts. July 2022. Treating Vaginal Dryness in Menopause. Our Bodies Ourselves. Link: https://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/health-info/treating-vaginal-dryness-in-menopause/
US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement: Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Postmenopausal Persons. JAMA article available here.
Fugh-Berman A, Scialli AR. Gynecologists and estrogen: an affair of the heart. Perspect Biol Med. 2006 Winter;49(1):115-30. doi: 10.1353/pbm.2006.0006.
Fugh-Berman A. The Haunting of Medical Journals: How Ghostwriting Sold “HRT”. PLOS Medicine 7(9): e1000335. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1000335
Fugh-Berman A. The Science of Marketing: How Pharmaceutical Companies Manipulated Medical Discourse on Menopause. Women's Reproductive Health, 2015; 2:1,18-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/23293691.2015.1039448
Derry P. Evidence-Based Medicine, Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy, and the Women's Health Initiative, Women's Reproductive Health, 2015; 2:1, 1-17. doi: 10.1080/23293691.2015.1039446
Huang AJ, Grady D. Menopausal Hormone Therapy for Prevention of Chronic Conditions: When Is Enough, Enough? JAMA. 2022;328(17):1712–1713. doi:10.1001/jama.2022.19098
National Women's Health Network. "Menopause Hormone Therapy Overview." 09 July 2015. Available online.
