What if you could delay menopause?
Plus: Racism and menopause • Meet Galina Espinoza of Flow Space
Racism and menopause
What are the health disparities and inequities among women of different races and socioeconomic backgrounds?
In reviewing more than 25 years of research to identify trends, investigators at the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN) came together to examine this very answer. Their findings?
Black women reach menopause 8.5 months earlier than white women, have worse symptoms (including hot flashes, trouble sleeping, and depression) and are also less likely to receive adequate medical and mental health treatment.
With race being a social construct, there are obviously no biological differences in women of color that would cause these inequitable menopause experiences. In other words, for people who menstruate, the biological process of menopause is the same, but the experience of life, including menopause, may differ.
Racism — both interpersonal and structural — leads to health disparities across the board.
To get a deeper, more intersectional look at disparities during menopause, researchers at The University of North Carolina and Brody School of Medicine culled together studies to define additional key factors of how negatively skewed menopausal experiences are buried in our culture’s systemic racism. Here are just some of their findings.
What habits and behaviors influence your menopausal symptoms?
The most consistent behavioral factors contributing to poor health outcomes during the menopause transition are inadequate nutrition, physical inactivity, poor sleep, and smoking.
A recent study of 288 postmenopausal women found that higher consumption of ultra-processed foods (such as sweetened beverages and packaged meats) was related to more severe hot flashes and poorer memory/concentration.
Insomnia, a common problem during menopause, is associated with physical function problems in late midlife (like balance issues or slow gait).
Physical activity, however, was found to reduce menopausal symptoms, particularly when conducted with a community exercise support group.
Takeaway: Staples of good health are also staples of less-bothersome menopause.
Do you live in a city? How does your environment affect menopause?
Living in neighborhoods with higher concentrations of air pollution may be associated with a younger age at menopause.
Age at menopause is 1.4 years earlier for women living in areas with less green space compared to women living in highly green areas.
Communities that lack safe and affordable public services like transportation, parks, recreational facilities, and grocery stores lead to worse health outcomes, including at midlife.
Takeaway: Regardless of where you live, don’t discount how your air quality and access to healthy foods might be impacting your health.
How does your income or socioeconomic status impact menopause?
Lower socioeconomic status has been related to younger age at menopause, more frequent hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and subclinical atherosclerosis during menopause.
In a sample of predominantly Latina women who are homeless and/or uninsured, investigators found that homeless women reported more menopause symptoms compared to individuals with housing.
Higher levels of education, being employed, and higher family income have been related to fewer menopausal symptoms.
Uninsured women have been shown to report more bothersome menopause symptoms than insured women. These women also have less access to preventive care, including birth control, mammograms, and cervical cancer screenings.
Takeaway: Our healthcare system needs to do a better job at providing access to preventative care for those in lower socioeconomic groups.
Is this the next hot topic in peri/menopause?
Esther Blum tipped us off about this New York Times article, and we think it’ll be a sweaty topic of conversation. Here’s a slice of the article by Alisha Haridasani Gupta and Dana G. Smith:
Is Delaying Menopause the Key to Longevity?
Scientists are studying how to keep the ovaries working longer — and potentially, prevent age-related diseases in the process.
In March, the first lady, Jill Biden, announced a new White House women’s health initiative that highlighted a seemingly obscure research question: What if you could delay menopause and all the health risks associated with it?
The question comes from a field of research that has started to draw attention over the last few years, as scientists who study longevity and women’s health have come to realize that the female reproductive system is far more than just a baby-maker. The ovaries, in particular, appear to be connected to virtually every aspect of a woman’s health.
They also abruptly stop performing their primary role in midlife. Once that happens, a woman enters menopause, which accelerates her aging and the decline of other organ systems, like the heart and the brain. While women, on average, live longer than men, they spend more time living with diseases or disabilities.
The ovaries are “the only organ in humans that we just accept will fail one day,” said Renee Wegrzyn, director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, a government agency tasked with steering Dr. Biden’s mission. “It’s actually kind of wild that we all just accept that.”
It is the ovaries’ truncated life span that also makes them such a promising site for experimentation. Researchers think that prolonging their function, better aligning the length of their viability with that of other organs, could potentially alter the course of a woman’s health — and longevity research overall.
Meet Galina Espinoza, the first editor-in-chief of Flow Space
New York City • @thisisflowspace
Flow Space is a new digital media brand from SHE Media, focused on women’s health in their post-reproductive years. It’s outrageous that in 2024 there’s still so little we understand about our bodies and how they work.
Why do women get Alzheimer’s at such a higher rate than men? What are preventative measures that can protect us against ovarian and cervical cancer? Why do we go into menopause at all?
These are some of the big, important questions science has yet to answer, and it’s one of the reasons why data shows women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health than men do. I’m incredibly proud and excited to be part of the growing movement to shift the narrative around the health of women — throughout their entire lives! — so that our care needs can be better researched and addressed.
The best thing about my current age, 54
The sense of contentment I have about where I am in my life. When I entered adulthood, rather than having really granular goals like, “Visit all seven continents by the age of 30!” I focused on broader dreams, like wanting to have a journalism career, travel the world, and find a partner I could grow old with. I didn’t know it then, but that was the best approach I could have taken; it made every step forward feel like a success and empowered me to focus on exploring interesting experiences instead of crossing off a checklist of accomplishments. I trusted my gut, embraced adventure, and didn’t let fear stop me from stepping into spaces that, on paper, definitely didn’t make sense. But it has all led to me feeling like, “Yeah, I did some stuff – even some good, special stuff,” while also having a cherished group of people in my life who love me and accept me for who I am.
My Grown-Ass Lady (GAL) heroes
On my maternal side, my Russian grandmother survived World War II in occupied Paris, then married an American GI who left her with three young kids to raise as a single mother in New York City, where she had zero support system and barely spoke the language.
Then there’s my paternal grandmother, my abuelita, who was married in Ecuador at 15 and became a mother three years later. She’d go on to raise six kids while working long hours as a seamstress in Manhattan’s Garment District. While she may not have had more than an eighth-grade education, she could do anything with needle and thread; well into my early adulthood, she made every special-occasion dress I wore, including for my college formals.
When they were still alive, they never let on how hard they had it; it’s only now that I wonder how, with all the obstacles they faced, they kept their wonderfully warm, loving spirits intact. It’s because of their unconditional belief in me and utter lack of judgment — even as I made choices that must have seemed so strange to them! — that I have been able to take advantage of all the opportunities they never had. I’m so grateful to them for letting me stand on their shoulders.
We tried it: Lauria Locsmondy’s review of Alloy M4 Face Cream
Our interview with Lynn Chen
P.S. Look who’s 49!
#HBDGAL to The Midst Creative Director Carrie O’Neal Brenner. In her words:
🥳 Here's to being 49 and F#CKING EMBRACING IT!!!
I remember when my dad turned 40! He seemed ancient!! It's hard to believe this is my last trip around the sun in my 40s...but you better damn believe it's gonna be a good one!
I've learned so much about myself this past decade. The good, the bad AND the ugly! But I'm so happy to be where I'm at, and looking forward to all that's ahead of me!!! It's taken me a few "bumpy" years to get my footing and feel like I can stand tall in my own skin and life. But I'm there peeps!!!🎉🎉🎉
Also, how cool are these socks? Carrie sells them at her gorgeous shop, Scripted Studio, in Hamilton, Ohio.