Menopause Resources

Below is a list of additional Menopause resources. Some of these resources are mentioned within the Menopause Wiki itself, while others simply provide further reading on a variety of menopausal topics.

Menopause Societies

• US & Canada: The Menopause Society (previously The North American Menopause Society)
• Canada: Canada Menopause Society
• United Kingdom: British Menopause Society
• Australia: Australasian Menopause Society
• Switzerland: Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Gynäkologische Endokrinologie und Menopause
• Germany: Deutschen Menopause Gesellschaft e.V.
• International Menopause Society

Menopause in the news

• The Surprising Biology Behind Menopause’s Worst Symptoms - Scientific American (Published January 23, 2024)
• How Menopause Affects Women of Color - NY Times article (Published August 23, 2023)
• What if We Could Get Rid of Menopause? - Wall Street Journal article (Published July 13, 2023)
• Women Have Been Misled About Menopause - NY Times article (Published Feb 1, 2023)
• Do Hormone Treatments for Menopause Increase Dementia Risk? - NY Times article (Published July 10, 2023)
• The truth about hormone therapy for menopause - The National CBC video (Published April 27, 2023)
• ‘Millions of women are suffering who don’t have to’: why it’s time to end the misery of UTIs - The Guardian (Published Dec 17, 2023)
• But Where’s our Little Blue Pill? (Cosmopolitan digital issue -Sex after 60)
• World Menopause Day - Cardiovascular Disease: Oct 18, 2023

Recommended books for menopause: (check your local library)

• The Menopause Manifesto (Dr. Jen Gunter)
• Estrogen Matters (Drs. Avrum Bluming and Carol Tavris)
• Better Sex Through Mindfulness (Dr. Lori Brotto)
• The Menopause Guidebook (The North American Menopause Society)
• The Natural Menopause Method: A Nutritional Guide Through Perimenopause and Beyond (Karen Newby)
• The Complete Guide to the Menopause: Your Tool Kit to Take Control and Achieve Life-Long Health (Dr. Annice Mukherjee)
• Magnificent Midlife: Transform Your Middle Years, Menopause and Beyond (Rachel Lankester)
• Second Spring: The Self-Care Guide to Menopause (Kate Codrington)
• What Fresh Hell Is This? Perimenopause, Menopause, Other Indignities, and You (Heather Corinna)
• Perimenopause Power (Maisie Hill)
• Mind Over Menopause: Lose Weight, Love Your Body, and Embrace Life After 50 with a Powerful New Mindset (Pahla Bowers)

Essential menopause resources

• The North American Menopause Society’s 2022 hormone therapy position statement (PDF)
• The North American Menopause Society’s 2023 non-hormone therapy position statement (PDF)
• The North American Menopause Society’s stance on hormone testing
• The Vajenda (Dr. Jen Gunter’s website/blog)
• Estrogen Matters podcast (Drs. Avrum Bluming and Carol Tavris, with Dr. Peter Attia)
• Management of the Perimenopause
• Menstruation and the Menopause Transition
• Bleeding patterns during the menopausal transition in the multi-ethnic Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN)
• Abnormal uterine bleeding in perimenopause
• How to Stay Positive During Menopause
• Medicine Today-Menopause Health Collection (PDF) (June 2023, collection of articles on hormone therapy, depression, premature ovarian insufficiency, vaginal symptoms, osteoporosis and management after breast cancer)
• Menopause impacts human brain structure, connectivity, energy metabolism, and amyloid-beta deposition
• Brain fog in menopause: a health-care professional’s guide for decision-making and counseling on cognition
• Menopause Barbie Taylor (YouTube series)
• Menopause: How your body changes and what you can do Dr. Louise Newson (YouTube)
• Understanding Menopause & How To Deal With Symptoms | Q&A With Expert Dr Louise Newson (YouTube)
• Best Exercise for Women Going Through Different Stages of Menopause Dr. Stacy Sims (YouTube)

Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) 2002 study’s impact on hormone therapy and menopause

• Where Are We 10 Years After the Women’s Health Initiative?
• Hormone replacement therapy - where are we now? (2021)
• A critique of Women’s Health Initiative Studies (2002-2006)
• The Controversial History of Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Association of Menopausal Hormone Therapy With Breast Cancer Incidence and Mortality During Long-term Follow-up of the Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Clinical Trials

Doctors and menopause (gaps in knowledge)

• Doctors are Failing Women: A New Approach to Menopause Care
• OB/GYNS need menopause medicine training
• What Doctors Don’t Know About Menopause (Three out of four women who seek help for symptoms don’t receive it)
• It’s Time to End the Medical Gaslighting of Menopausal Women
• Mayo Clinic - Stay Active to Slow Muscle Loss That Comes with Aging
• Review of over 70 years of menopause science highlights research gaps and calls for individualized treatment

Cardiovascular disease in menopause

• Menopause-associated risk of cardiovascular disease
• The connection between menopause and cardiovascular disease risks
• Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in SWAN
• Menopausal Hormone Replacement Therapy and Reduction of All-Cause Mortality and Cardiovascular Disease: It’s About Time and Timing
• Effect of hormone replacement therapy on cardiovascular events in recently postmenopausal women
• The American Heart Association’s 2020 Statement:Menopause Transition and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: Implication for Timing of Early Prevention
• American College of Cardiology: Hormone replacement therapy associated with lower mortality
• CDC: Lower your Risk for the Number 1 Killer of Women
• Cardiovascular disease competes with breast cancer as the leading cause of death for older females diagnosed with breast cancer
• World Congress on Menopause 2018: Dr. Robert Reid (YouTube)

Dementia in menopause

• Early menopause may raise risk of dementia later in life
• The Menopause Society’s report: Hot Flashes Yet Another Early Indicator for Alzheimer’s Disease
• Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and the Risk of Dementia
• Systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of menopause hormone therapy on risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia
• Sweet spot for HRT may reduce dementia risk by nearly a third (CNN_Health Article: Nov 2, 2023)
• Estrogen and cerebral blood flow: a mechanism to explain the impact of estrogen on the incidence and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease
• Menopausal hormone therapy and dementia: nationwide
• Don’t Panic about the Study Suggesting an Increased Risk of Dementia with MHT

Depression in menopause

• The North American Menopause Society: Depression and Menopause
• Depression and Menopause: An Update on Current Knowledge and Clinical Management for this Critical Window
• Depression During and After the Perimenopause: Impact of Hormones, Genetics, and Environmental Determinants of Disease
• Menopause and mental health
• Mood Changes During Perimenopause Are Real
• Perimenopause and Depression

Dietary, supplement and vitamin therapy in menopause

• Nutrition in Menopausal Women
• The Importance of Nutrition in Menopause and Perimenopause
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Menopause
• Nutritional Risk Factors Associated with Vasomotor Symptoms in Women Aged 40–65 Years
• Botanical and Dietary Supplements for Menopausal Symptoms: What Works, What Doesn’t
• Do vitamins help with menopause?
• Selected vitamins and quality of life in menopausal women
• Treatment of vasomotor symptoms of menopause with black cohosh, multibotanicals, soy, hormone therapy, or placebo
• Amberen vs. Estroven: What to know
• NCCIH: Black Cohosh
• NCCIH: Menopause Symptoms Nutritional Approaches
• Efficacy of the special extract ERr 731 from rhapontic rhubarb for menopausal complaints: a 6-month open observational study
• A Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Maca Root as Treatment for Antidepressant-Induced Sexual Dysfunction in Women
• Phytoestrogens and Their Health Effect
• Soy extract phytoestrogens with high dose of isoflavones for menopausal symptoms
• The pros and cons of phytoestrogens
• Consumption of soybean, soy foods, soy isoflavones and breast cancer incidence: Differences between Chinese women and women in Western countries and possible mechanisms
• The Role of Colonic Bacteria in the Metabolism of the Natural Isoflavone Daidzin to Equol
• Vitamin B12 deficiency can be sneaky, harmful
• The good, the bad, and the ugly of calcium supplementation: a review of calcium intake on human health
• Supplement Roulette
• Consumer Reports: How to Choose Supplements Wisely
• Dept of Defense: Supplement Safety Checks

Hair loss in menopause

• American Academy of Dermatology Association: Thinning Hair and Hair Loss: Could it be Female Pattern Hair Loss?
• The Hair Follicle as an Estrogen Target and Source
• Prevalence of female pattern hair loss in postmenopausal women
• The Distribution of Estrogen Receptor β Is Distinct to That of Estrogen Receptor α and the Androgen Receptor in Human Skin and the Pilosebaceous Unit
• Biotin supplementation for hair and nail health: Does it pass the test?
• Managing hair loss in midlife women
• Combination Approaches for Combatting Hair Loss
• Nutrition of women with hair loss problem during the period of menopause
• A Review of the Use of Biotin for Hair Loss

Hormone therapy in menopause

• The Controversial History of Hormone Replacement Therapy
• Hormone replacement therapy - where are we now? (2021)
• ‘Tis but a scratch: a critical review of the Women’s Health Initiative evidence associating menopausal hormone therapy with the risk of breast cancer
• HRT benefits & risks with Dr. Avrum Bluming
• Hormone Therapy for Menopause: Amercian College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists
• Hormone Replacement Therapy: National Library of Medicine
• Health related quality of life after combined hormone replacement therapy
• Hormone replacement therapy associated with lower mortality
• Hormone replacement therapy and the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis
• Relationship between menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer: A nationwide population-based cohort study
• Bioidentical hormone therapy:Clarifying the misconceptions
• Stop Using “Body Identical” and “Bioidentical” to Refer to Menopausal Hormone Therapy
• The Language of Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Why it Matters
• Bioidentical Hormone Therapy
• What are bioidentical hormones?
• Menopause Hormone Therapy Chart
• Guide to Equivalent MHT/HRT Doses - Australasian Menopause Society
• Endometriosis recurrence from estrogen-only HRT
• HRT in Women Undergoing Pelvic Clearance for Endometriosis-A Case Report and a National Survey
• Progesterone in Peri-and Postmenopause
• Use of menopausal hormone therapy beyond age 65 years and its effects on women’s health outcomes by types, routes, and doses
• Oral micronized progesterone for perimenopausal night sweats and hot flushes
• Smoking, estradiol metabolism and hormone replacement therapy
• Use of hormone replacement therapy and risk of venous thromboembolism
• Postmenopausal Estrogen Therapy: Route of Administration and Risk of Venous Thromboembolism
• Estrogen and skin: The effects of estrogen, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy on the skin
• Does Estrogen Prevent Skin Agin?
• The effect of menopausal hormone therapy on gastrointestinal cancer risk and mortality in South Korea
• Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Type 2 Diabetes Prevention: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Clinical Implications
• Hormone therapy may be best defense against knee osteoarthritis

Compounded hormone therapy in menopause

• Compounded Bioidentical Menopausal Hormone Therapy
• What you Need to Know About Pellet Therapy for Menopause by Dr. Jen Gunter
• Topical Progesterone Is a Scam by Dr. Jen Gunter
• Transdermal progesterone creams for postmenopausal women: more hype than hope?
• Pelleted Hormone Therapy—More Risks, Questionable Benefits, Warn Experts
• The dangers of compounded bioidentical hormone replacement therapy
• Australasian Menopause Society does not recommend the use of compounded bioidentical hormone therapy in any form
• Menopause experts say compounded HRT is unsafe (The Guardian)
• Off-label prescribing of compounded, bioidentical hormone therapy can put physicians at legal risk
• Safety assessment of compounded non-FDA-approved hormonal therapy versus FDA-approved hormonal therapy in treating postmenopausal women

Hot Flashes (flushes) and night sweats in menopause

• The Menopause Society’s 2023 nonhormonal therapy position statement for vasomotor symptoms (PDF)
• The Menopause Society’s report: Hot Flashes Yet Another Early Indicator for Alzheimer’s Disease
• Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease Events in SWAN
• Hot flashes linked with risk factors for cardiovascular disease
• Hot flashes and subclinical cardiovascular disease: Findings from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation Heart Study
• Vasomotor symptoms and their links to cardiovascular disease risk
• Menopausal Hot Flashes: A Concise Review
• Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms and White Matter Hyperintensities in Midlife Women
• Longitudinal Analysis of the Association Between Vasomotor Symptoms and Race/Ethnicity Across the Menopausal Transition
• Perception of higher frequency of daily hot flashes in 50-year-old women today
• Fezolinetant, the new drug for hot flashes, gets approved by the FDA
• Vasomotor Symptoms and Menopause
• Duration of Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms Over the Menopause Transition
• Behavioral weight loss for the management of menopausal hot flashes
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Menopause
• Cognitive-behavior therapy for hot flushes and night sweats
• Hypnosis Intervention for Treatment of Hot Flashes Among Breast Cancer Survivors
• Clinical hypnosis in the treatment of postmenopausal hot flashes
• Nutritional Risk Factors Associated with Vasomotor Symptoms in Women Aged 40–65 Years
• The relationship between social support, stressful events, and menopause symptoms
• Treatment of vasomotor symptoms of menopause with black cohosh, multibotanicals, soy, hormone therapy, or placebo
• Black Cohosh: LiverTox: Clinical and Research on Drug-Induced Liver Injury
• Cigarette smoking, estrogen levels, and hot flashes in midlife women
• Fruit, Mediterranean-style, and high-fat and -sugar diets are associated with the risk of night sweats and hot flushes in midlife
• Menopause, micronutrients, and hormone therapy

Muscle and joint pain in menopause

• Muscle and Joint Pain in Menopause
• Effect of Estrogen on Musculoskeletal Performance and Injury Risk
• Musculoskeletal Pain during the Menopausal Transition
• Hormonal and reproductive factors in relation to the risk of rheumatoid arthritis in women: a prospective cohort study with 223 526 participants

Osteosporosis in menopause

• 2022 Endocrine Society Menopause and Bone Loss
• National Osteoporosis Foundation: What Women Need to Know
• Bone Health and Osteoporosis
• Bone Mineral Density Changes during the Menopause Transition in a Multiethnic Cohort of Women
• One bone fracture increases risk for subsequent breaks in postmenopausal women
• Menopausal hormone therapy for the management of osteoporosis
• Hormone replacement therapy and the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis
• Withdrawal of hormone replacement therapy is associated with significant vertebral bone loss in postmenopausal women
• Hip fracture in postmenopausal women after cessation of hormone therapy
• Sharp increase in falls in women during midlife
• Decreasing the risk of falls and fractures before, during and after menopause (PDF)
• The effect of alcohol on osteoporosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
• High-intensity exercise did not cause vertebral fractures and improves thoracic kyphosis in postmenopausal women with low to very low bone mass
• High-Intensity Resistance and Impact Training Improves Bone Mineral Density and Physical Function in Postmenopausal Women With Osteopenia and Osteoporosis: The LIFTMOR Randomized Controlled Trial
• Effect of two jumping programs on hip bone mineral density in premenopausal women
• Melatonin and Osteoporosis
• Prunes preserve hip bone mineral density in a 12-month randomized controlled trial in postmenopausal women
• Lifting Intervention for Training Muscle and Osteoporosis Rehabilitation (LIFTMOR) trial
• Exercising with osteoporosis; Stay active the safe way
• Train Like a Woman: Interview with Dr. Stacy Sim
• Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation: Bone Density Testing
• FRAX: Fracture Risk Assessment Tool

Other concerns in menopause

• Australasian Menopause Society: Midlife ADHD in women: any relevance to menopause?
• Alcohol is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer
• Menopausal Acne – Challenges And Solutions
• Cigarette Smoking and Risk of Early Natural Menopause
• Early menopause and premature ovarian insufficiency are associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes
• Tubal Ligation and Age of Natural Menopause
• Endometriosis in Menopause-Renewed Attention on a Controversial Disease
• The management of menopause in women with a history of endometriosis
• The Impact of Estrogens and Their Receptors on Immunity and Inflammation during Infection
• Menopause and rheumatic disease
• Nicotine Alters Estrogen Receptor-Beta-Regulated Inflammasome Activity and Exacerbates Ischemic Brain Damage in Female Rats
• Osteoarthritis associated with estrogen deficiency
• Menopause and Osteoarthritis: Any Association?
• Psychologic distress and natural menopause
• Why are Women Prone to Restless Legs Syndrome?
• The link between frozen shoulder and menopause
• Don’t Use Menopause to Excuse Mediocre Men

Sex/libido in menopause

• Sexual difficulties in the menopause
• Yes, you can have better sex in midlife and in the years beyond

Skin in menopause

• Estrogen-deficient skin: The role of topical therapy
• Estrogens and Aging Skin
• Effect of estrogens on skin aging and the potential role of SERMs
• Skin, hair and beyond: the impact of menopause (PDF)
• Menopause, skin and common dermatoses
• Dermatological Changes during Menopause and HRT: What to Expect?
• Clinical characteristics of rosacea in perimenopausal women
• Effects of hormones on skin wrinkles and rigidity vary by race/ethnicity: four-year follow-up from the ancillary skin study of the Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study

Sleep in menopause

• Sleep and Chronic Disease -CDC & Prevention
• Sleep and sleep disorders in the menopause transition
• Healthy sleep habits
• Sleep, Melatonin, and the Menopausal Transition: What Are the Links?
• Oral magnesium supplementation for insomnia in older adults
• The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial
• The Effects of Magnesium – Melatonin - Vit B Complex Supplementation in Treatment of Insomnia
• 5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP): Natural Occurrence, Analysis, Biosynthesis, Biotechnology, Physiology and Toxicology
• Valerian Root in Treating Sleep Problems and Associated Disorders—A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
• Is exercise an alternative treatment for chronic insomnia?
• Physical exercise as a therapeutic approach for adults with insomnia
• Menopause and insomnia: Could a low-GI diet help?
• High glycemic index and glycemic load diets as risk factors for insomnia
• Mediterranean diet pattern and sleep duration and insomnia symptoms in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis

Testosterone in menopause

• Testosterone Levels Don’t Drop Sharply in Menopause
• Global Consensus Position Statement on the Use of Tesosterone Therapy for Women
• The British Menopause Society Statement on Tesosterone
• The Australasian Menopause Society
• The North American Menopause Society: The role of testosterone therapy in postmenopausal women
• The Safety of Testosterone Therapy in Women (PDF)
• Testosterone replacement in Menopause (PDF)
• Androgen Therapy in Women: A Reappraisal: An Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline
• Increasing women’s sexual desire: The comparative effectiveness of estrogens and androgens
• Could testosterone be a useful treatment for menopause?

Vaginal dryness (genitourinary syndrome) in menopause

• Vaginal Atrophy
• What Is Clitoral Atrophy and How’s It Treated?
• Comparison of the Hyaluronic Acid Vaginal Cream and Conjugated Estrogen Used in Treatment of Vaginal Atrophy of Menopause Women
• Current treatment options for postmenopausal vaginal atrophy
• Efficacy of intravaginal dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) on moderate to severe dyspareunia and vaginal dryness, symptoms of vulvovaginal atrophy, and of the genitourinary syndrome of menopause
• Hyaluronic acid-based hydrating vaginal gel
• Is vaginal hyaluronic acid as effective as vaginal estriol for vaginal dryness relief?
• Efficacy of vaginal estrogen for recurrent urinary tract infection prevention in hypoestrogenic women
• Treating vulvovaginal atrophy/genitourinary syndrome of menopause: how important is vaginal lubricant and moisturizer composition?
• Vaginal atrophy, diagnosis & treatment
• Vaginal atrophy
• Vaginal estrogen use for genitourinary symptoms in women with a history of uterine, cervical, or ovarian carcinoma

Weight in menopause

• Menopause Weight Gain: Stop the Middle Age Spread
• Estrogen Deficiency and the Origin of Obesity during Menopause
• The effects of modified alternate-day fasting diet on weight loss and CAD risk factors in overweight and obese women
• Time-restricted feeding improves insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis in a mouse model of postmenopausal obesity
• What Midlife Women Should Know About Intermittent Fasting
• Daily energy expenditure through the human life course
• Waist size predicts heart attacks better than BMI, especially in women
• Excess Fat Around the Waist May Increase Death Risk for Women
• The Mediterranean diet and menopausal health
• Life-long body mass index trajectories and mortality in two generations
• Effect of diet with or without exercise on abdominal fat in postmenopausal women
• The effects of exercise training on body composition in postmenopausal women
• Effect of exercise training intensity on abdominal visceral fat and body composition

Workplace/employment in menopause

• Impact of Menopause Symptoms on Women in the Workplace
• Research: Workplace Stigma Around Menopause Is Real
• Impact of Menopausal Symptoms on Work: Findings from Women in the Health and Employment after Fifty (HEAF) Study
• Menopause in the workplace: What employers should be doing

Community supports

• Menopause Cafe - A place to gather, eat cake, drink tea and discuss menopause; join in or start your own!
• c/menopause - The Menopause Wiki’s official community on the open source Lemmy platform
• r/menopause - The Menopause Wiki’s official community on the Reddit platform

Tools

• Balance Menopause Support Menopause App by Dr. Louise Newson
• FRAX: Fracture Risk Assessment Tool
• National Menopause Foundation: Menopause Symptom Checklist (PDF)

Fitness in menopause

Be sure to check out our Fitness Wiki

• Melissa Neill - Body by bikini (YouTube)
• Pahla B Fitness (YouTube)
• Lift with Cee - Cheryl Coulombe (YouTube)