The health benefits of delaying menopause are reportedly being pushed by a new study that claims women's health deteriorates during menopause due to its acceleration of diseases.
According to the New York Times, researchers looking into women's health and longevity have realized that the female reproductive system is much more than just a means of producing offspring. Specifically, the ovaries seem involved in almost every aspect of a woman's health.
According to the paper, a woman's aging process and the deterioration of her heart and brain systems will speed up once she enters menopause. Although women generally outlive males, they also experience illnesses and disabilities for a longer period of time.
White House on Menopause
These claims coincide with the first lady, Jill Biden, previously revealing in March a new White House women's health campaign that emphasized the potential health hazards of delaying menopause and how to do so.
The head of the government organization that directed Dr. Biden's work, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, Renee Wegrzyn, asserts that the ovaries are the only human organ people accept will eventually fail.
Ovaries' shortened lifespan is another factor that makes them such an attractive subject for research. According to researchers, prolonging their function and better matching the duration of their viability to other organs may change the trajectory of a woman's health and longevity research in general.
Dr. Wegrzyn expressed her hope that the White House project, vying for a portion of the $100 million program budget among researchers and startups, would draw attention to the link between menopause and lifespan and bring further funds and talent to the subject.
Menopause Studies
Researchers are still doing studies on menopause, treatment options, and its associations with other health concerns. A new study reported last year suggested that there may be a link between the usage of menopausal hormone therapy and an increased risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
The Danish study discovered that those who used menopausal hormone therapy for a prolonged period, as well as those who stopped using it abruptly, were more likely to get dementia.
The study's results support those of the biggest clinical trials, highlighting the need for additional investigation to establish the causal association between hormonal therapy and dementia risk. Experts advise against concluding a cause-and-effect relationship just from observed interactions.
Menopausal hormone therapy, or HRT, is a popular treatment for symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes. It entails taking pills that are either progesterone or estrogenic.
The Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, the largest clinical trial in this field, supports other large observational studies that show a relationship between long-term menopausal hormone treatment use and dementia development.
Further research is still needed to determine the effects of short-term hormone therapy around menopause, as is commonly advised. It is still unknown how different treatment plans affect the risk of dementia.
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