Does menopause cause an increase in health problems ranging from heart disease to bone disease to psychological depression? One issue is that many of these claims have been criticized as being overblown both by professionals within the medical community and by critics outside it. Another issue is that when problems are linked to menopause, the suggested solution has often been estrogen supplements (postmenopausal hormone therapy)—since after menopause a woman’s body produces far less estrogen—rather than seeking more complex causes, solutions, and mechanisms.

For example, although heart disease has many causes, during the 1990s many professionals recommended hormone therapy as being uniquely effective at preventing heart disease. At one time, a middle-aged woman who was depressed ran the risk of a professional assuming that she was suffering from a hormone imbalance without a careful evaluation of her distress.

While there is more attention today to looking at what causes problems and the best way to solve them, there is still a fundamental lack of understanding of basic processes. Even if menopause is linked to a problem, that doesn’t in itself tell us the mechanism by which this happens, or the best way of solving the problem. Suppose, for example, it had turned out that research established (it hasn’t, but suppose it had) that a woman’s risk of heart disease increases because of menopause. If this was because changes in estrogen levels result in changes in a woman’s metabolism, then lifestyle changes might solve the problem by revving up her metabolism even though a hormonal change caused it. Further, some other cause might be present. Perhaps some women who feel old or are busy become less physically active at midlife. Or perhaps some women who are depressed start eating more dessert. Or perhaps (as seems to be the case) heart disease risk simply increases as people get older.

For a wide variety of problems related to menopause, it would be great if more research looked at basic causes, complex mechanisms, and individual differences.

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