World Menopause Day: Learning about Menopause from the Pioneer of Gender-Specific Medicine

Panel discussion

Photo

*On the right, Dr. Keiko Amano; On the left, Rie Okubo (Facilitator, Deloitte Tohmatsu Group Chief Talent Officer/DEI Leader)

*All information is as of the time of the event.

(Event summary *Some excerpts)

About four times more women than men struggle with menopausal symptoms. Women start experiencing menopausal symptoms from perimenopause. (menopausal transition)

Okubo: Today, we would like to welcome Dr. Amano, who is a pioneer in “gender-specific medicine” that focuses on diseases caused by physical differences and gender-specific differences in disease conditions, for proper diagnoses and treatments. What should we do about menopause from a medical point of view and what should we do if we are not feeling so well?

Dr. Amano: People may have an image that menopause is for female, but menopause affects both female and male, and the symptoms of menopause in male are almost the same as those in female. Mental health symptoms include anxiety, irritability, depression, insomnia, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, and low sex drive. Physical symptoms include fatigue, hot flashes, sweating, headache, dizziness, tinnitus, decreased sexual functions, and frequent urination. Because of hormones, females are more likely to experience menopausal symptoms. I think this is a very big challenge for organizations because if you look at various surveys and data from Statistics Bureau of Japan, you can estimate that about 460,000 women and 110,000 men in their 40s and 50s are resigning due to what seems like menopausal symptoms.

For females, last period plays a major role in menopause, and many of you may think that the average age of menopause, which is about 50, is when you experience menopause. However, you need to understand that when your menstrual cycle becomes really short or very long like 40 to 50 days, a sudden drop in estrogen (a kind of female hormone, also called follicle hormone, that acts to regulate various functions of female body, including reproductive functions such as the uterus) begin, which is a start of menopause. Please note that there are many diseases that have symptoms similar to menopause. There are people who come to the hospital saying that they may be experiencing menopausal symptoms but turn out to have brain tumors. So, it is better not to assume that your symptoms are menopausal, but to go see a doctor to get diagnosed.

Don't try too hard. Even in the younger generation, stress can cause symptoms similar to menopause

Okubo: For females, menopausal symptoms begin at the stage of irregular menstruation before the last period. I have heard about people who struggle with similar symptoms from younger age such as in their 30s.

Dr. Amano: It is said that an increasing number of females who are in their 40s or younger and not yet at the age of menopause are experiencing irritability, demotivation, insomnia, anxiety, and depression. This may be caused by rapid weight loss, obesity, severe stress, intense training, lack of sleep, and smoking, which may cause hormonal imbalance. Also, excessive weight loss can stop menstruation and cause symptoms similar to menopause. Also, trying too hard thinking, "I'm still young, so I should be fine" is not good. It's more stressful than you think, and it can lead to physical problems like menopause symptoms.

Okubo: Thank you. There was a similar story in our mental health webinar we held the other day. Your mind and emotions are closely connected to your body, so it's important to catch your body's sign early on. It is important to check yourself to make sure that you are not overdoing things.

Prevent decrease in basal metabolism by exercise and amino acids. Let's face menopause while maintaining physical strength.

Okubo: Now, I would like to ask some questions that participants have been asking in the chat box. The question is, “My mother went through menopause in her early 40s. Is it possible that the timing of menopause is similar genetically? Also, I have heard that it is easy to get osteoporosis if you go through menopause early. What can I do to prevent it?” What do you think?

Dr. Amano: Female hormones begin to decline in the late 30s. Menopause occurring in the early 40s is called “early menopause”, and the cause of this is said to be 20% due to chromosomal origin and 80% due to others (Autoimmune disorders such as hypothyroidism, influence from ovarian surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy). Also, after menopause, females are more likely to develop osteoporosis because their bone density decreases due to lack of estrogen. Good eating habit is also important in preventing osteoporosis, but the best way to prevent osteoporosis is to stimulate the bones through exercise from young age and increase the underlying bone density before menopause.

I think many people start to think about menopause when they reach their 40s. Especially for female, it is important not to keep your body cold. I recommend taking a bath or a sauna to warm your body up. Also, putting a heating pad on your stomach is effective. From the age of 40 or so, with the decrease of estrogen, basal metabolism slows down, and the muscles will decrease without realizing it. It is important to raise the basal metabolism first after the age of 40, because if the basal metabolism is lowered, it is easy to gain weight, which becomes the source of all diseases. For that, moderate exercise such as strength training is effective. Please make sure to take amino acids after exercise. Putting a load on your muscles and building them will also lead to a longer and healthy life.

Okubo: I didn't know that exercise was that important. Especially for people in their 40s and above, it seems better to exercise regularly. While it is easy to talk about exercise, there is still a sense that talking about menopause is a taboo, but it is important to eliminate bias and fear of menopause by gaining the right knowledge, and to deal with menopause well by facing each person's body.

Dr. Amano: Yes. In order to cope with menopause well, if you feel that you may be experiencing menopausal symptoms, don't assume that you have no choice but to endure it. First, go see a doctor to make sure the symptoms are not coming from other diseases, and then consult with a specialist such as an outpatient clinic for menopause, an outpatient clinic for women, or a general medical department. Also, when it comes to work, you should consult with people around you about adjusting workload as necessary. It’s the same thing as you would consult about adjusting your workload in case you are sick. Menopause does not last your lifetime. In order to continue working sustainably, let's think about how to deal with menopause and overcome it.

Okubo: There are many symptoms of menopause that are difficult to deal with in advance, such as hot flashes that cause you to sweat suddenly, but it is not good for your mental health to remain vaguely anxious or to be afraid of menopause, thinking menopause equals aging too much. The important thing for each of us is asking for support. As an organization, it is important not to dismiss menopause as an individual issue, but to face it as an organizational issue, and to create systems and cultures for members from all backgrounds to be able to work sustainably. As the CTO of Deloitte Tohmatsu Group and one of the professionals of menopause generation, I would like to think more about creating an environment where each professional can continue to thrive while flexibly responding to changes in their physical condition, lifestyle and stage, including menopause.

Take a look at our insight report, Women @ Work 2023: A Global Outlook, which highlights the importance of paid leave for menstrual and menopausal symptoms as a part of efforts to improve working environment for women.

*You can read the report on the Menopause Day event held in 2021 from here.

*For more DEI stories and reports, please see here.