New insights to be shared at prestigious European Congress on Menopause and Andropause in Florence

Newson Health is unveiling new research at a prestigious menopause conference in Italy this week.

Six pieces of Newson Health research will be presented at the Annual European Congress on Menopause and Andropause, which takes place in Florence on 3-5 May.

Topics include testosterone, surprising menopause symptoms, menopause conversations between generations, the impact of menopause on nutrition and exercise habits, and menopause education in schools.

Newson Health and balance founder, GP and Menopause Specialist Dr Louise Newson said: ‘From symptoms to treatments and lifestyle measures, the breadth of the topics we will be presenting is a testament to Newson Health’s commitment to transforming women’s health.

‘We are thrilled to be sharing our research with healthcare professional colleagues across Europe and beyond.’

The conference is organised by the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS), an international society promoting health in women and men at midlife and beyond, made up of more than 40 affiliated societies. Newson Health’s presentations will cover the following topics:

Benefits of testosterone beyond libido

An important sex hormone for many women, testosterone can help improves libido and overall sense of wellbeing.

Current guidelines only recommend testosterone if menopausal women have reduced libido, despite taking HRT. But now new research by Newson Health suggests testosterone replacement for women has far-reaching benefits beyond sexual function for women who are already taking HRT.

Analysis of 906 women who added testosterone to their HRT regimen found testosterone significantly improved many other symptoms including concentration, memory, sleep, anxiety and mood related symptoms.

Click here to read the abstract – For women established on HRT, how effective is the addition of transdermal testosterone in improving symptoms beyond those related to sexual function?

Mood and mental health in menopause

This presentation will focus on the mental health-related findings of a perimenopause and menopause experiences survey completed by 5,750 women.

Findings included:

• 96% of women reported a negative change in their mood or emotions since onset of perimenopause
• the most common symptoms were feeling anxious or stressed (84%), more easily overwhelmed (79%), low or tearful (72%), angry or irritable (67%) and flat or blunted (55%)
• two thirds of women had sought help for their symptoms, usually from their GP
• 19% had been formally diagnosed with a mood disorder, and a third (38%) of women had been offered antidepressants rather than HRT.

Click here to read the abstract for – Prevalence and nature of negative mood symptoms in perimenopause and menopause.

Menopause discussions at home and between generations

Conversations with friends and family can be a valuable source of menopause information. However, taboos around menopause may limit discussion resulting in lack of knowledge about symptoms and management options.

This presentation focuses will focus on the menopause conversations between family and friends using the findings of a perimenopause and menopause experiences survey completed by 5,750 women.

Findings included:

• three-quarters (75%) of respondents said the menopause was never discussed in their home while growing up, 5% recalled it being discussed once, 19% discussed it occasionally and 1% said it was discussed on a regular basis
• 34% had never discussed the menopause with their mother, 38% had occasionally, 13% once, and 12% had never discussed it
• women were more likely to have conversations about menopause with their children; 87% had discussed menopause with their daughters, and 69% of women had discussed menopause with their sons.

Click here to read the abstract for – The last great taboo: menopause discussions in the home and between generations.

Diet and exercise habits during the perimenopause and menopause

This presentation will focus on the diet and exercise-related findings of a perimenopause and menopause experiences survey completed by 5,750 women.

The aim was to gain insight into the diet and exercise habits of perimenopausal and menopausal women, and identify barriers to a healthy lifestyle.

Findings included:

• two thirds (68%) reported that they had gained weight since onset of perimenopause
• tiredness (54%) and a lack of motivation (43%) were the most common barriers to a balanced diet
• almost a third exercised less than once a week or not at all. The most common form of exercise was walking (79%), followed by yoga (34%)
• main barriers to exercise were lack of motivation (51%), lack of time (42%) and presence of perimenopausal symptoms (32%).

Click here to read the abstract for – Overcoming barriers to health: diet and exercise habits in perimenopausal and menopausal women

Surprising menopause symptoms

While hot flushes and night sweats are common menopausal symptoms, women may experience several different physical and psychological symptoms during the menopause.

Lack of awareness, and failure to recognise the impact of changing hormones on physical and mental health, delays access to timely care and causes unnecessary suffering.

This presentation will focus on the findings of a perimenopause and menopause experiences survey completed by 5,750 women relating to unexpected and/or surprising symptoms.

Findings included:

• almost three quarters (74%) of respondents experienced surprising or unexpected symptoms
• joint pain was the most common unexpected symptom (34%), followed by dry eyes (26%) heart palpitations (25%) and hair issues such dryness, thinning hair and hair loss (20%)
• words used to describe these unexpected/surprising symptoms in free text responses included ‘distressing’, ‘debilitating’ ‘depressing’ and ‘embarrassing’.

Click here to read the abstract for – Distressing, debilitating and embarrassing: surprising symptoms and the need for holistic approach to menopause care.

Impact of menopause education in schools

Menopause was only added to the relationships, sex and health education curriculum in England’s secondary schools in 2020.

This presentation looks at the results of a 1,000-strong survey completed by women and men of all ages about their experiences of and views on menopause education in secondary schools.

Findings included:

• virtually all (99.3%) respondents did not receive any secondary education on the perimenopause and menopause
• the 0.7% who did say it was ‘brief’ and ‘limited’, and these respondents tended to be from the younger end of the spectrum.

Click here to read the abstract for – Invisible women: the absence of adequate menopause education in schools.