Vietnamese women have early menopause

The information was given by Associate Professor, Dr. Luu Thi Hong, General Secretary of the Vietnam Obstetrics and Gynecology Association, at Scientific conference in response to World Menopause Day 2024, organized by the Ministry of Health on October 16 in Hanoi.

Each year, Vietnam has about 13 million women in premenopausal and postmenopausal age (45-69 years old). Of these, 70-80% of women are affected by menopausal symptoms, 20-35% have moderate and severe symptoms. Common symptoms of premenopause include weight gain, insomnia, hot flashes, sweating, irritability, irritability, vaginal dryness, difficulty having sex, vaginal infections, and osteoporosis. , atherosclerosis… The average duration of symptoms is more than 7 years.

“After menopause, women can live another 20-30 years, equivalent to one-third of their life, but have to face many health problems,” Associate Professor Hong said, adding that among the patients she has examined, , many people have unpleasant symptoms, in some cases depression, and are forced to take medication.

Dr. Tran Thi Thu Hanh, Deputy Head of the Department of Endocrinology, Central Obstetrics Hospital, said that women’s life expectancy is increasing, which means they will have a long time to face menopause. However, this issue is still not fully understood. According to statistics, nearly half of women do not have information and are not ready about premenopause and menopause. 55% of people wish they had known about perimenopause sooner.

In recent years, the Central Obstetrics Hospital has had a menopause clinic, but according to Dr. Hanh, the number of people coming to the clinic is not much, because women always suffer silently, thinking that this is something difficult to talk about and Always find your own solution. From here, one of the common mistakes among premenopausal and postmenopausal women is to buy medicine, functional foods, and nutritional supplements without a doctor’s prescription.

The doctor once received cases of people arbitrarily supplementing high levels of estrogen because they heard people said it had good effects for menopause. However, due to supplementing too large a quantity, it led to menorrhagia and required hospital treatment.

Experts recommend that women take care of their health by exercising regularly, combining appropriate diet and rest. You should discuss your health status with a medical professional when menopausal disorders affect your quality of life to find appropriate treatment solutions.

At the conference, Mr. Dinh Anh Tuan, Director of the Department of Maternal and Child Health (Ministry of Health) acknowledged that in the past, people were more interested in topics such as safe motherhood, family planning, and abortion. safe pregnancy… without really focusing on the health of premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The Ministry of Health is working with hospitals and experts to develop a separate section in “National guidelines on reproductive health care for menopausal and premenopausal women”, with contents on diagnosis, advice and treatment. Preventive advice, treatment, and hormonal supplements for women.