All women should visit their GP when they are 50 to arrange a personal health plan, campaigners say.
According to the British Menopause Society, a health and lifestyle consultation would help women improve their health as they go through the menopause.
Publishing a statement in Menopause International, the BMS Council said most women were unaware what impact the menopause could have on their health.
But if simple improvements were made to their lifestyles, many of the conditions associated with it would have less impact.
Professor Mary-Ann Lumsden, chairman of the BMS, said it was important that women kept their weight down, reduced their alcohol intake, exercised and ate sensibly to reduce the risk of heart disease, breast cancer, cancer of the uterus and osteoporosis.
“One fifth of the UK population comprises women over the age of 45,” she says.
“Those 13 million women represent enormous economic potential as both employers and employees because of their experience and knowledge. But they’re at risk of developing conditions which are expensive to treat and extremely costly if they end up having to give up work – not to mention the psychological impact.”
The statement, which coincides with the BMS annual conference in Leeds, recommends that giving women the right information about menopause-related health risks at the right time would save money as well as improving women’s quality of life.
“If women are properly assessed they can be educated into ways in which they can improve their health risk profile they will lead a longer healthier life,” says Prof Lumsden. “Women need to be educated to take responsibility for their menopausal health.”
The BMS also calls for:
- The setting up of a Premature Menopause Register by the Department of Health as a priority;
- The Department of Health to provide clear, objective information about current knowledge of the benefits and risks of HRT;
- The reintroduction of free swimming for the over 60s.
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