Hormone therapy can work as a mitigating factor for premature workforce exit for women who had surgical menopause.
Early menopause (before age 45), whether natural or surgical, may adversely affect women’s health and career pathways, making them to resign the work sooner than planned (1✔ ✔Trusted Source
The associations of early and surgical menopause with 10-year employment trajectories bracketing final menstruation or surgery
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While menopause is commonly known to escalate the risk of serious health conditions like cardiovascular diseases and bone disease (osteoporosis) in women, the new study establishes an additional menace in their workforce.
The study says, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) administered within the early postmenopausal years could be an efficient tool for women to sustain in the career. The observations were published in Menopause, the journal of The Menopause society.
Intensified Health Risks After Surgical Menopause
Early menopause, whether natural or surgical (removal of both ovaries), has already been considered a risk factor for multiple diseases. Women with early menopause are also at higher risk of experiencing more frequent, severe, and prolonged hot flashes and night sweats, as well as depressive symptoms.
Premature morbidity and menopause symptoms can be even more pronounced in women who undergo early surgical menopause, which results in the sudden cessation of ovarian function.
Despite extensive research on the health consequences of early menopause, little is known about how it affects other aspects of women’s lives, including their ability to maintain and build their careers.
Measuring Menopause’s Impact on Employment Trajectories
A new study involving nearly 1,400 women who had undergone natural menopause, premenopause bilateral oophorectomy, or hysterectomy is one of the first known studies to not only investigate the effect of early and surgical menopause on work function but also the effect of hormone therapy as a mediator.
The researchers used sequence analysis of employment histories to define three different 10-year employment trajectories. Regression analysis was then used to assess associations between timing and type of menopause on employment.
Need for Menopause-Inclusive Workplace Policies
Women with early menopause were found to have less flexible working arrangements during this sensitive period. However, early natural menopause did not appear to make a woman more likely to exit the labor market earlier than women with later menopause.
Surgical menopause, in contrast, was found to be associated with an increased risk of labor market exit, especially for women aged 45 years or older at the time of surgery.
Hormone therapy was shown to help reduce the risk of labor-market exit for women with both early natural menopause and surgical menopause. Based on the results, the researchers advocate for workplace policies that consider women’s diverse menopause experiences.
Reference:
- The associations of early and surgical menopause with 10-year employment trajectories bracketing final menstruation or surgery – (https://journals.lww.com/menopausejournal/fulltext/9900/the_associations_of_early_and_surgical_menopause.534.aspx)
Source-EurekAlert! and AAAS