Menopause: What the physician needs to know

1. Introduction

Menopause will occur for all women who have menstruated. The majority of women undergo spontaneous natural menopause around the age of 51 years. However, for some women, as a result of medical intervention including pelvic surgery, treatment with chemotherapy/ immunosuppressant therapy, pelvic irradiation or spontaneously, menopause will occur at an earlier age. Significant short term and long term psychological and physical sequelae are associated with menopause including menopausal symptoms and sexual dysfunction, in addition to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis.

This education area of the website is designed to increase physicians’ understanding and awareness of menopause and related issues and provide an avenue whereby further information can be sought and guidance given as to when and where to refer women for further management. It is not designed to act as a treatment guide although an overview of management, including a discussion of the controversies regarding hormone replacement therapy, is included. Although this information is relevant to any physician who deals with women, it is particularly relevant to those physicians who are involved in the care of childhood or adult cancer survivors, transplant recipients, women diagnosed with autoimmune disorders, women who have required immunosuppressant chemotherapy or those who have undergone pelvic surgery.

Completing this education area requires for you to test your knowledge initiially, read through each page and then test your knowledge again.

CPD for physicians

2. Test your knowledge

3. Definitions

4. Physiology

5. Epidemiology

6. Early/Premature Menopause

7. Clinical Presentation

8. Diagnosis

9. Long term consequences

10. Management
10.1 Diet and lifestyle
10.2. HRT
10.3 Tibolone
10.4 Non-oestrogenic therapy
10.5 Sexual dysfunction
10.6 Other therapies
10.7 References

11. When to refer and where