Medical Help Not Sought For Chronic Symptoms Affecting Intimate Relationships.(Brief Article)

2001 DEC 13 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New research with Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian women in the United States suggests that culture influences how women experience the emotional and physical changes brought on by menopause.

The Change of (Love) Life study sponsored by Vagifem (estradiol vaginal tablet), a local estrogen therapy for menopause-related vaginal dryness, soreness and irritation, also found that the sex in sexuality is not the most important part of these women's intimate relationships. But one of the most striking observations, researchers say, is that women across all cultural groups want more education about menopause.

"This research suggests a huge need for menopausal women to be better educated about this chapter of their lives," says anthropologist and research leader Marietta Baba, PhD, dean of the College of Social Science, Michigan State University. "Despite massive education efforts over many years time, women still aren't sure when menopause begins and ends, or what the symptoms or treatments are. Education could help offset cultural influences that affect how women experience menopause, help them adjust faster and feel better about themselves."

For the Change of (Love) Life study, cultural and medical anthropologists studied more than 1200 menopausal women, looking at how ethnicity impacts perception of health, self-image, and sexual relationships during menopause. Women of different ethnic groups experience the classical symptoms of menopause in varying degrees (hot flashes, fatigue, weight gain, moodiness, and vaginal dryness), with Asian women experiencing the least symptoms and Caucasian women the most.

"We found that each cultural group has its own concerns and coping mechanisms to deal with menopause," said Baba. "In our study, African-Americans are most optimistic, Caucasians most anxious, Asians most muted about symptoms, while Hispanics are most stoic."

While American culture has shaped women's fundamental thinking about menopause, ethnic background still influences whether a woman feels more positive or negative about this stage of life. These attitudes in turn affect how women learn about menopause, communicate with others about their experience, and if they will seek treatments to alleviate their symptoms.

Across all ethnic groups, many women share a hesitancy to seek prescription treatment for menopausal symptoms. This hesitancy, particularly strong among African-American and Caucasian participants, undoubtedly causes many to suffer unnecessarily from unpleasant symptoms. Fatigue rates as the most disruptive symptom of menopause for all ethnic groups followed by weight gain, sleep loss, moodiness, and hot flashes.