There are two million women in Australia who have recently gone through menopause, while around 80,000 women move into the postmenopausal stage every year. Meanwhile, perimenopausal (women transitioning to menopause) and menopausal women make up around 40% of all healthcare visits in the country.

 

Despite these figures, there is a lack of understanding about the symptoms of menopause, which are often misdiagnosed as predominately mental health related and are therefore not managed optimally.

 

This is why we are proud to partner with the Australasian Menopause Society (AMS), a group of doctors and allied health professionals, to work together to combat misdiagnosis. Through our partnership with the AMS, we hope to increase education and access to evidence-based information about menopause to help people reach a correct diagnosis, allowing for a better quality of life for patients and a reduced burden on the healthcare system.

 

As it stands, our claims experience demonstrates that women between 45-55 years of age are twice as likely to have a mental health claim when compared to men. These women are often experiencing symptoms related to menopause and are incorrectly diagnosed with depression or anxiety.

 

Moreover, women transitioning into menopause are at risk of mood disturbance; however, the seriousness of mood fluctuation is often underestimated. For example, 2020 Australian statistical data showed that the highest suicide rate for women is the 45-49 age bracket. Furthermore, during this time, women with pre-existing mental illness may experience an exacerbation of their symptoms. Even those who have never experienced depression previously are at a heightened risk of depression when compared to pre-menopausal women.

 

In addition, after menopause women are more vulnerable to the development of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and heart disease.

 

We believe that knowledge is crucial to women and those around them so that they can receive the support they need and be empowered to set themselves up for a healthier, longer, better life. We hope that our work with AMS will promote awareness of menopause as an essential transitional stage in life and highlight that many women will experience varying symptoms that must be properly diagnosed.

 

If you would like to know more about how our collaboration with AMS can help your customers, please contact your Strategic Partnership team.