Optimizing quality of life in perimenopause: lessons from the East

Abstract

As global life expectancy improves, women are expected to spend more than one-third of their lives in the status of menopause. In China, many women suffer from menopausal symptoms during this period, which impacts their well-being and quality of life. However, most Chinese women simply endure menopausal symptoms. Since the Chinese Menopause Society was founded in 1999, several versions of the guidelines for menopause management and menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) have been published; international cooperation has strengthened; menopause-related activities have been advocated; and popular knowledge of menopause and MHT has gradually improved. Medical workers, menopausal women, and the general population have come to realize that MHT is the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms and could improve quality of life. In addition to MHT, non-hormone management (traditional Chinese medicine, lifestyle changes, social/psychological interventions, dietary management, etc.) of menopausal symptoms is an important consideration, especially in situations when MHT is contra-indicated. This review summarizes the literature and research studies to help health care acknowledge the population and prevent underuse of effective therapies or use of inappropriate or ineffective therapies, which, in turn, is expected to improve public health management and women’s quality of life. More efforts should be made to better disseminate the knowledge on perimenopausal management among Chinese women.

Chinese abstract

随着全球预期寿命的提高, 预计女性在绝经后的时间将超过其三分之一。在中国, 许多女性在此期间患有更年期症状, 这影响了她们的健康和生活质量。然而, 大多数中国女性只是忍受更年期症状。自中华医学会妇产科学分会绝经学组1999年成立以来, 已有多种版本的更年期管理和更年期激素治疗（MHT）指南发布, 国际合作得到加强, 提倡与更年期相关的活动, 逐步提高了更年期和MHT的大众知识普及。医务人员、更年期女性和一般人群已经认识到, MHT是治疗更年期症状的最有效方法, 可以改善生活质量。除了MHT, 更年期症状的非激素管理（中医, 生活方式改变, 社会/心理干预, 饮食管理等）是一个重要的考虑, 特别是在MHT禁忌的情况下。本综述总结了文献和研究, 以帮助医疗保健人员识别人群, 防止有效治疗的使用不足或使用不恰当或无效的治疗方法, 这反过来有望改善公共卫生管理和女性生活质量。应该做出更多努力, 更好地传播中国女性围绝经期管理的知识。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• quality of life
• menopause hormone therapy
• non-hormone management
• traditional Chinese medicine

Acknowledgements

The authors thank all medical workers devoted to improving quality of life for menopausal women in China. Qi Yu did the topic selection, designed the study, and edited the manuscript. Xi Wang did the topic research, analyzed the data, and wrote the manuscript. Shengyuan Ran did the topic research.

Conflict of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest.

Source of funding

This work received no financial support.