Previous studies have shown that hormone therapy, a common treatment for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, can lead to a higher risk of breast cancer, heart disease, stroke and blood clots in some women. For that reason, many women no longer use the treatment for their symptoms.
Now, a study from Yale School of Medicine researchers has highlighted the economic consequences of this aspect of menopause, with hot flashes being tied to lost productivity at work and to increased health-care costs. Medical News Today reports on the findings (subscription required), which appear in the journal Menopause:
[The research team] used data on health insurance claims to compare over 500,000 women, half with and half without hot flashes. The team calculated the costs of health care and work loss over a 12-month period. Participants were all insured by Fortune 500 companies.
The team found that women who experienced hot flashes had 1.5 million more health care visits than women without hot flashes. Costs for the additional health care was $339,559,458. The cost of work lost was another $27,668,410 during the 12-month study period.”
"Not treating these common symptoms causes many women to drop out of the labor force at a time when their careers are on the upswing," Philip Sarrel, MD, said in the piece, later adding that there are options for those suffering: "The symptoms can be easily treated in a variety of ways, such as with low-dose hormone patches, non-hormonal medications, and simple environmental adjustments such as cooling the workplace."
Jen Baxter is a freelance writer and photographer. After spending eight years working for Kaiser Permanente Health plan she took a self-imposed sabbatical to travel around South East Asia and become a blogger. She enjoys writing about nutrition, meditation, and mental health, and finding personal stories that inspire people to take responsibility for their own well-being. Her website and blog can be found at www.jenbaxter.com.
Previously: Studying the link between post-menopausual hormones, cognition and mood, Anxiety, poor sleep, and time can affect accuracy of women’s self-reports of menopause symptoms and Most physicians not prescribing low-dose hormone therapy
