World Menopause Day is held every year on the 18^th of October.  The purpose of the day is to raise awareness of the menopause and the support options available for improving health and wellbeing. We encourage professionals and women to participate in this global awareness raising campaign by printing and sharing these materials, organising events to engage their communities, and sharing World Menopause Day social media posts.

2024

The theme for World Menopause Day 2024 is Menopause Hormone Therapy. The 2024 IMS White paper, and theme of World Menopause Day, aims to report on the current controversies regarding prescribing of menopause hormone therapy (MHT). The overall aim of this White paper will be to provide a well-balanced blueprint for both Healthcare Professionals and the public for managing the menopause with MHT, where appropriate to do so.

It will examine controversial topics within each one of these categories such as

• Who should use MHT?

  • Should women without symptoms be prescribed MHT

  • Should medically high-risk women be prescribed MHT

• What should be used?

  • Are the types and doses of estroegen and progesterone important

  • Why are women still turning to compounded bioidentical MHT in some countries

  • Has the prescribing of testosterone in women become overzealous

• When should MHT be started?

  • Should MHT be started before the menopause

  • Should MHT be initiated in older women well past the menopause transition

• Why is MHT important?

  • Are we over medicalising the menopause

  • Should we be recommending non hormonal alternatives instead of, or in addition to MHT

• Where can MHT be accessed?

  • Women in Low and Middle Income countries have limited / no access to MHT – what can be done about this

  • Are influencers (medical, political and social) creating unrealistic expectations or restoring the balance to where it should be

Tips for celebrating

• Hold a colleague awareness session
• Run a Menopause cafe
• Hold a one day menopause event
• Launch menopause e-learning programme
• Host a menopause video on your intranet
• Use and encourage others a teams / zoom backdrop to promote 
• Arrange a week long menopause festival 

Resources

2023

The theme for 2023 was Cardiovascular Disease.  During World Menopause Month, let’s talk about it openly and raise more awareness, break the stigma, and highlight the support options available for improving health and wellbeing.  It’s a normal, natural part of the aging process, yet many women are still worried about going through menopause. Of course, there are some less desirable symptoms that accompany changing hormones — like hot flashes — but there are also things to celebrate, such as no more periods, PMS, or worrying about unwanted pregnancies. Add to that the increased self-confidence, self-awareness, and greater freedom that menopause often brings, and October can become a time of amazing personal growth and excitement.

Menopause is not just a gender or age issue; it is an organisational issue.  It can impact on colleagues both directly or indirectly. Awareness on this topic is fundamental and reducing the stigma attached to it is vital so that more people will talk openly about it so it can begin to be normalised and people can get the support they need.

This year the focus is on Cardiovascular disease. As women navigate through perimenopause, the risk of developing cardiovascular disease amplifies. Oestrogen has a protective role as it protects the arteries and heart muscle cells, helping control blood pressure end flow. Oestrogen is also anti-inflammatory , so its absence means your blood vessels are more susceptible to plaques and blood clots which is one of the primary cases of heart attacks.  Menopause also impacts lipid metabolism, leading to changes in cholesterol and other blood fat levels which can also increase the risk of cardiovascular. Small little steps make significant impact:

Diet - this plays a huge role in heart health.

1. Choose healthy fats. Swap butter for olive oil and avocado oil in cooking, eat nuts and seeds and have oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines.

2. Replace refined grains with whole grains to help lower cholesterol. Foods like whole grain brad, brown rice and quinoa are excellent source of soluble fibre. Add flaxseeds, beans and pulses for extra fibre boost.                 

3. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. A lot of evidence shows that plant-based diets are associated with a reduction in cardiovascular disease. Have a plate half full of colourful fruits and vegetables as they are high in fiver, antioxidants and other vital nutrients.