Menopause matters: attending to the vitality of older women

Menopause is a point in a woman’s life marked by the end of her menstrual cycle and diagnosed after 12 months without a menstrual period. The time leading up to menopause is a transition phase. The transition phase is often accompanied by irregular menstruation, hot flashes, interrupted sleep, increased irritability and other emotional responses, weight gain, body changes, and other symptoms (Mayo Clinic, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/menopause/symptoms-causes/syc-20353397; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women’s Health https://www.womenshealth.gov/menopause). Most women begin experiencing menopause as early as 55 years old. The years leading up to menopause can start even earlier.

During this critical biological transition period of women’s lives, they continue to be vital contributors to their families, serving caregiving roles, and contributing to the workforce. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of individuals 65 and older has been on the rise with women employed twice as much as men and those numbers showing sharp increases of up to 147% between 1977–2007 (Older Workers, https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2008/older_workers/). The relative increases in the percentage of older adults in the U.S. workforce are attributed to the baby boomers: “the 55–years-and- older age group will total 97.8 million, composing 28.7% of the 2020 resident population, compared with 24.7% in 2010” (Toossi, 2020, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/01/art3full.pdf)

Older women play an active role in our communities. The biological changes they experience accompanying menopause have been the focus of magazines, newsletters, Facebook groups, and social media platforms. The Journal of Women and Aging issue features a selection of articles that presents menopause through a global culturally diverse lens. The authors represent the experiences of women from Nigeria, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. A variety of research methodology was used to examine various aspects of menopause and the impact on women’s lives. Ojo Melvin Agunbiade and Leah Gilbert’s manuscript – “The night comes early for a woman”: Menopause and sexual activities among urban older Yoruba men and women in Ibadan, Nigeria,” – presents findings on perceptions of menopause and sexuality. The men and women interviewed for this study make culturally-based attributions about their experience of suppressed sexual desires during menopause.

Contributors in this issue also consider the intersection of menopause and health and health-seeking behaviors for menopause-related symptoms. Authors Roshna Thapa, Youngran Yang, and Betty Bekemeier’s manuscript, “Menopausal symptoms and associated factors in women living with HIV in Cambodia,” examines menopausal symptoms in women living with HIV in Cambodia. The authors primarily reported their findings associated with severe psychological responses among menopausal women living with HIV health conditions. Another health-related condition among menopausal women is incontinence. It is the focus of Lili Husniati Yaacob, Shakiroh Abdul Mokti, and Juliawati Muhammad’s manuscript: “Health seeking behavior of menopausal women with urinary incontinence in Northeast Malaysia.”

Although the Northeast Malaysian postmenopausal women participants in this study reported widely experienced urinary incontinence conditions, only a small percentage sought treatment.

The last featured manuscript focus on Indonesian older women and the impact of menopause on cognitive functioning. Authors Sujarwoto Sujarwoto and Gindo Tampubolon examine the experience of approximately a thousand menopausal Indonesian women and present robust findings related to their cognitive functioning. Sujarwoto and Tampubolon’s manuscript, “Premature natural menopause and cognitive function among older women in Indonesia,” offers a careful consideration of a range of sociodemographic factors in conducting the study’s analysis. Their findings that premature natural menopause has implications for cognitive functioning in later life requires consideration.

The manuscripts represent culturally diverse experiences of menopausal older women. The authors examined menopause and its impact on sex, psychological health, health-seeking behaviors, and cognitive functioning. Readers of this issue will also benefit from the authors’ recommendations which, taken together, includes implications for older women’s sexual health and psychological well-being; need for more health education and interventions to maintain the social, emotional, and overall well-being.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.