Menopause: Signs, Symptoms, Data, Treatments, and Nursing Implications

This essay provides a comprehensive overview of menopause, a natural aging process affecting both men and women, with a particular focus on the female experience. It details the observable signs and symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood changes, as well as the potential for increased cardiovascular risks and psychological effects. The essay explores diagnostic methods, such as FSH testing and the Greene Climateric Scale, and discusses various treatment options, including hormone replacement therapy (HRT), acupuncture, and the use of SSRIs and GABA analogs. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of lifestyle modifications and the crucial role of nurses in educating patients, providing support, and guiding them through the management of menopause. The essay emphasizes the need for educational sessions, psychological assessments, and group discussions to address the multifaceted challenges associated with menopause and promote holistic well-being.

Running head: MENOPAUSE
Menopause
FCHS Student number
Name of the Student
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Name of the University
Word count- 1280
Author Note

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Introduction- Menopause is an aeging process and typically occurs in both men and
women at approximately 49-52 years of age. Male menopause is the more commonly referred to
as andropause. The term is generally used to describe male hormonal changes that are related to
increasing age. The condition is also known as late-onset hypogonadism or androgen deficiency.
It involves a drop in testosterone production (Cunningham, 2013). On the other hand, the
cessation of menstrual periods in females is referred to as menopause. It involves loss of follicles
from the ovary (Murphy et al., 2013). This condition can also arise due to surgical removal of
ovaries. The follicles present in the ovary lose their capability to respond to the secretion of
follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). A particular population survey conducted in the United Arab
Emirates showed that the 48 years was the mean age for incidence of natural menopause, and it
was lower than the mean age observed among people living in the West (Hamid et al., 2014).
Another study showed that women living in the UAE reported less severity and fewer
symptoms of menopause than women living in the western countries (Hamid et al., 2014).The
assignment will illustrate the observable signs and symptoms of menopause, the data from
several laboratory studies and the various treatment or interventions used to prevent its
occurrence. It will further illustrate the future nursing implications to treat this condition in
clinical settings. Therefore, it will help in providing a deeper understanding of the services that
need to be employed to treat menopause and promote the holistic wellbeing of the target
population.
Symptoms- Menopause is considered as a natural change. The periods generally become
irregular before the incidence of menopause. The most common symptoms are observed in the
form of vasomotor symptoms or hot flashes that last from 30 seconds to 10 minutes. The hot
flashes are often associated with sweating, shivering, and reddening of skin, and are reported by

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more than 80% of women experiencing menopause. Other observable symptoms include trouble
in sleeping, sexual difficulties, vaginal dryness, itching, urine leakage, decreased libido, and
mood changes (Altaweel & Alharbi, 2012). Menopause increases the likelihood of getting
affected with atherosclerosis and acute myocardial infarction. Some of the common risk factors
that contribute to the condition are hypertension, tobacco smoking, increased body weight and
increased blood lipids. The risk for osteoporosis and osteopenia also rises (Topatan & Yıldız,
2012).
Hormonal fluctuations give rise to several psychological changes like irritability, mood
swings, increasing anxiety, poor memory and lack of concentration. The UAE census conducted
in 2010 reported that there were 468,888 Emirati women of whom 83,784 were from Dubai. At
least 50% of the population was female (222,875). The census reports revealed that life
expectancy is 39.4 years at 45 – 49 years and 34.4 years at 50 – 54 years (Dsc.gov.ae, 2017).
Thus, it can be deduced that women live one-third of their lives beyond the incidence of
menopause.
Diagnosis- People are often advised to undergo the Follicle-stimulating hormone test is
by doctors to assess the levels of estrogen and FSH. An increase in FSH levels and decrease in
estrogen levels are generally observed. The Greene Climateric Scale is a questionnaire tool used
by to study menopause symptoms. Furthermore, doctors often test for lipid profile, where an
abnormal increase in low density lipoproteins (LDL) and decrease in high density lipoproteins
(HDL) show an elevated risk of cardiovascular diseases. Performing thyroid function tests
exclude the occurrence of thyroid diseases because they share some common symptoms with
menopause. Swabs are used to check pH levels of the vagina. This is due to the fact that vaginal
pH levels increase to 6 during menopause (Panda et al., 2014).

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Treatment- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is used as the standard treatment for
menopause. This therapy is used to control to the psychological, vasomotor and urogenital
irregularities, and osteoporosis. The routes of administration of this therapy are subcutaneous,
oral, intravaginal, transdermal and intrauterine. It is most effective in treating hot flashes.
However, the risks of blood clots and stroke increase upon its use (Fantasia & Sutherland, 2014).
The therapy has also proved effective in treating osteoporotic fracture and bone loss. Moreover,
there is a concern that this therapy can increase incidence of ovarian cancer, breast cancer and
cardiovascular disease among postmenopausal women.
The symptoms associated with menopause are also treated by acupuncture. Results from
a randomized controlled pilot study also showed that Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture
were successful in reducing hot flushes and improving quality of life among postmenopausal
women (Nedeljkovic et al., 2014). Recent studies provide evidence for the use of selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors to treat menopause symptoms. A systemic review conducted in
Saudi Arabia reported improvements in vasomotor symptoms and severity of hot flashes with the
use of SSRI such as, fluoxetine and venlafaxine (Shams et al., 2014). Some of the commonly
used GABA analogs to treat hot flashes are pregabalin and gabapentin (Imai et al., 2013). The
effects of yoga on menopausal symptoms were demonstrated by a randomized controlled trial
that showed improvement of menopause related insomnia symptoms among women who
practiced yoga for 12 weeks (Newton et al., 2014).
Prevention and lifestyle modifications- Natural menopause cannot be prevented.
However, certain lifestyle changes can be adopted that can delay onset of early menopause.
Factors such as, high intake of dietary fat, smoking, high cholesterol, and caffeine consumption
accelerate the onset of the physiological phenomenon. Hence, there should be a reduction in

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alcohol and cigarette consumption and women should consume food rich in calcium and vitamin
D to avoid occurrence of menopause related osteoporosis. Balanced diet, regular exercise and
maintenance of body weight will also help to prevent the incidence of cardiovascular disorders
(Gold et al., 2013). A reduction in alcohol consumption also helps to reduce hot flashes and
disturbances in sleep patterns.
Nursing assistance- Nurses, working in menopause clinics play a vital role in informing
women about menopause symptoms and its management.. Nurses are responsible for assisting
women to understand the potential health implications of menopause management. They
formulate and lead several specialist menopause services and works towards ensuring that the
services produce good patient outcomes (Sewerynek et al., 2013). It is of utmost importance to
allow the patients to express their attitude and feelings about menopause. Nurses are involved in
taking consultations that include psychological, physical and historical assessments. Referrals
and counselling are taken by them to advise patients on complementary therapies and lifestyle
modifications that will optimize long-term health outcomes. Their role requires them to
encourage patients to exercise for 30 minutes, thrice a week. They also assist the patients to
maintain a healthy diet rich in fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Patients are advised to
consume food that is low in fatty acid content.
Conclusion- In conclusion, it can be stated that menopause is a
physiological event that occurs among all aging population. However its
symptoms and degree of impact on the quality of life vary among
individuals. There are several environmental and lifestyle factors that can
affect that age of onset of menopause. Most common symptoms are
observed in the form of physical and psychological changes. Hot flashes are

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most commonly seen. One of the widely prevalent management techniques
is hormone replacement therapy, in addition to use of SSRI.
Future recommendations- These include conduction of educational
sessions that provides adequate information on the age of onset, symptoms,
risk factors, management and lifestyle changes to cope with menopause.
Psychological assessments will help in considering and addressing individual
needs. Group discussion will also provide assistance to people to discuss on
their experiences, negative emotions and coping strategies related to
menopause. Thus, it can be concluded that nurses play an essential role in
screening women for menopause symptoms and teaching them the different
management options.

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