September is National Menopause Awareness Month!

The first wave of "Baby Boomer" women are now entering menopause. About 20 million more will reach menopause over the next decade. Polls show that many will turn to their obstetrician-gynecologist -- and to the media -- for information.

Some Facts About Menopause

• Menopause -- the time when ovaries cease functioning and menstrual periods stop -- marks the end of the reproductive years. A woman is past menopause when she has stopped having monthly periods for 12 consecutive months.
  
• Perimenopause is the transitional stage leading up to menopause, which lasts approximately three to five years, but may be longer or shorter.
  
• The average age of US women at menopause is 51. Twenty million women of the "Baby Boomer" generation (born 1945-1960) are due to reach menopause within the next decade. Currently, more than one-third of all US women are older than 50.
  
• A majority of American women who are approaching or going through menopause (53%) consider themselves only "somewhat informed" about it, according to a 1997 Gallup survey.
  
• Women tend to get their information about menopause from: physicians (cited by 51%); magazines (41%); other women (37%); TV (17%); and newspapers (10%).
  
• Over 6 out of 10 women who have not yet gone through menopause say they will talk to an ob-gyn (66%); 28 percent will consult their family physicians.
  

Menopause results in a significant decrease in estrogen, which can cause side effects and increase the risk of:

• Osteoporosis -- which leads to hip, wrist and spine fractures. Number of serious osteoporosis-related fractures per year: 210,000.
  Cardiovascular disease -- the number one killer of women.
  
• While 55 percent of women consider menopause to be "no big deal," nearly 90 percent voice concern about at least one condition associated with menopause, when asked. Their top concerns include: osteoporosis (37%); emotional symptoms such as mood swings (37%); and hot flashes (31%). * In 1992, there were 39 million prescriptions for estrogen, up from 16 million in 1982. But only 15 to 25 percent of currently eligible women use hormone replacement therapy.