Labor Productivity Of Women During Menopause

Labor Productivity Of Women During Menopause.
Women who decline harsh hot flashes during menopause may be less productive on the job and have a lower quality of life, a new muse about suggests. The study, by researchers from the drug maker is based on a survey of nearly 3300 US women old 40 to 75. Overall, women who reported severe hot flashes and evensong sweats had a dimmer view of their well-being. They also were more likely than women with milder symptoms to order the problem hindered them at work. The cost of that lost work productivity averaged more than $6500 over a year, the researchers estimated.

On finest of that women with severe hot flashes burnt- more on doctor visits - averaging almost $1000 in menopause-related appointments. Researcher Jennifer Whiteley and her colleagues reported the results online Feb 11, 2013 in the annual Menopause. It's not surprising that women with onerous hot flashes would visit the doctor more often, or report a bigger contact on their health and work productivity, said Dr Margery Gass, a gynecologist and superintendent director of the North American Menopause Society.

But she said the new findings put some numbers to the issue. "What's practical about this is that the authors tried to quantify the impact," Gass said, adding that it's always virtuousness to have hard data on how menopause symptoms affect women's lives. For women themselves, the findings give reassurance that the belongings they perceive in their lives are real. "This validates the experiences they are having".

Another gynecologist who reviewed the haunt pointed out many limitations, however. The research was based on an Internet survey, so the women who responded are a "self-selected" bunch, said Dr Michele Curtis, an obstetrician and gynecologist in Houston. And since it was a one-time view it provides only a snapshot of the women's perceptions at that time. "What if they were having a debased day? Or a safe day?" she said.

It's also ineluctable to know for sure that hot flashes were the cause of women's less-positive perceptions of their own health. "This tells us that unhappy hot flashes are a marker for feeling unhappy. But are they the cause?" Still, she commended the researchers for exasperating to estimate the impact of hot flashes with the data they had. "It's an compelling study, and these are important questions".

Like Gass, Curtis said the results also validate women's experiences. "You're not twist for feeling bad". The findings are based on nearly 3300 women. Most said they either had no heated flashes and night sweats, or mild symptoms. But almost 500 said they had sensible symptoms, while nearly 150 rated them as severe.

One-quarter of employed women with severe symptoms said the unruly hindered them at work, compared with just 4 percent of women with mild guff flashes and 14 percent of those with moderate ones. Curtis pointed out, however, that the percentages are based on unprofound numbers: just 43 women with severe hot flashes were employed. When it came to day-to-day activities, almost one-third of women with stringent hot flashes felt held back, versus 6 percent with yielding symptoms and 17 percent with moderate ones.

The good dope is there are ways to make your hot flashes less frequent or less intense. For severe symptoms the most basic treatment is hormone therapy - usually a combination of estrogen and progestin. For now, it's also the only healing approved by the US Food and Drug Administration specifically for easing saleable flashes.

But doctors and patients have been wary of hormones ever since a US study a decade ago linked the cure to increased risks of blood clots, heart attack, stroke and breast cancer. The ordinary advice now is for women with hot flashes to take hormones at the lowest dose and for the shortest ease possible. For women who cannot or do not want to take hormones, there are other options. Gass noted that some antidepressants have been found to serve relieve hot flashes.

Certain blood pressure drugs and anti-seizure medications also are at times prescribed. If your menopause symptoms are milder, some lifestyle changes may be enough, including turning down the thermostat at darkness or dressing in layers so you can remove some when you feel a hot flash coming on. If you indigence more relief, though, Gass recommended talking to your doctor about your options chachi. Curtis said it's also leading to be sure your hot flashes are the result of menopause, since other conditions - most commonly an overactive thyroid gland - can cause the symptoms too.