New care pathway advises health professionals on postreproductive health

A new position statement by the European Menopause and Andropause Society (EMAS) published in the journal Maturitas provides a pathway with the latest post-reproductive health strategies, with the aim of optimizing care at an international scale. The pathway will assist healthcare professionals to provide up-to-date evidenced-based information so that women seeking advice about menopausal health should not suffer in silence and be able to make informed choices.

Menopause can cause disruptive symptoms in women, who usually enter this phase in their late 40s or early 50s. Life expectancy continues to rise, and it has been estimated that by 2025, there will be 1.1 billion postmenopausal women worldwide. Menopausal women run the risk of conditions like osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cognitive decline, dementia and sarcopenia. As a result, entering the menopause can be considered as an opportunity to address musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health, smoking, alcohol use and cancer screening.

EMAS recommends that assessment should be holistic and include menopausal symptoms, personal and family history, cardiovascular and osteoporotic risk factors as well as gynaecological and breast health. Strategies to maintain postreproductive health include optimising diet and lifestyle, menopausal hormone therapy and non-estrogen-based options for climacteric symptoms and skeletal conservation.

'This easy-to-follow care pathway will help all health professionals provide a personalised approach to postreproductive health and inform women of the strategies available to them during menopause', Prof Margaret Rees, EMAS Executive Director.