Abstract
Several recent, large-scale studies have provided valuable insights into patient perspectives on postmenopausal vulvovaginal health. Symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy, which include dryness, irritation, itching, dysuria, and dyspareunia, can adversely affect interpersonal relationships, quality of life, and sexual function. While approximately half of postmenopausal women report these symptoms, far fewer seek treatment, often because they are uninformed about hypoestrogenic postmenopausal vulvovaginal changes and the availability of safe, effective, and well-tolerated treatments, particularly local vaginal estrogen therapy. Because women hesitate to seek help for symptoms, a proactive approach to conversations about vulvovaginal discomfort would improve diagnosis and treatment.
Acknowledgments
Editorial assistance was provided by Pamela Barendt, PhD, of ETHOS Health Communications, Newtown, Pennsylvania, with financial assistance from Novo Nordisk Inc, Princeton, New Jersey, in compliance with international guidelines on Good Publication Practice. The authors received no remuneration of any kind for the development of this manuscript.
Disclosure
During the past 2 years, Dr Nappi had a financial relationship (lecturer, member of advisory boards and/or consultant) with Bayer-Schering Pharma, Eli Lilly, Merck Sharpe and Dohme, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer Inc, and Teva/Theramex. Dr Kellogg-Spadt has had financial relationships (lecturer, consultant) with Warner Chilcott, Novo Nordisk, and Neocutis. Dr Parish has had financial relationships (member of advisory boards) with Novo Nordisk, Emotional Brain, Shionogi, and Sprout Pharmaceuticals. Dr Krychman has had a financial relationship (lecturer and consultant) with Warner Chilcott, Novo Nordisk, Shionogi, Sprout, Palatin, and Pfizer. Dr Kingsberg has financial relationships with Novo Nordisk, Trimel, BioSante, Emotional Brain, Pfizer, Shionogi, Sprout, Viveve, and Palatin. Dr James A Simon has served or is currently serving as a consultant to or on the advisory boards of Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, IL, USA), Agile Therapeutics Inc (Princeton, NJ, USA), Amgen Inc (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA), Ascend Therapeutics (Herndon, VA, USA), Azur Pharma Inc (Fitzwilliam Square, Dublin), BioSante (Lincolnshire, IL, USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Depomed Inc (Menlo Park, CA, USA), Fabre-Kramer (Houston, TX, USA), Intimina by Lelo, Inc (San Jose, CA, USA), Laboratoire HRA Pharma (Paris, France), Meditrina Pharmaceuticals (Ann Arbor, MI, USA), MD Therapeutics (Boca Raton, FL, USA), Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA), Merrion Pharmaceuticals (Wilmington, NC, USA), NDA Partners LLC (Lakewood Ranch, FL, USA), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvaerd, Denmark), Novogyne (East Hanover, NJ, USA), Pfizer Inc (New York, NY, USA), Shionogi Inc (Florham Park, NJ, USA), Slate Pharmaceuticals Inc (Durham, NC, USA), Sprout Pharmaceuticals (Raleigh, NC, USA), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Jerusalem, Israel), Trovis Pharmaceuticals LLC (Newton, MA, USA), Warner Chilcott (Rockaway, NJ, USA), and Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc (Corona, CA, USA). He has received or is currently receiving grant/research support from BioSante (Lincolnshire, IL, USA), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), EndoCeutics Inc (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvaerd, Denmark), Novogyne (East Hanover, NJ, USA), Palatin Technologies (Cranbury, NJ, USA), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Jerusalem, Israel), and Warner Chilcott (Rockaway, NJ, USA). He has also served or is currently serving on the speakers bureaus of Amgen Inc (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA), Ascend Therapeutics (Herndon, VA, USA), Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany), Boehringer Ingelheim (Ingelheim, Germany), Merck (Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA), Novartis (Basel, Switzerland), Novo Nordisk (Bagsvaerd, Denmark), Novogyne (East Hanover, NJ, USA), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (Jerusalem, Israel), and Warner Chilcott (Rockaway, NJ, USA). He is currently the part-time Chief Medical Officer for Sprout Pharmaceuticals (Raleigh, NC, USA). The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work.