Menopause Left Untreated Costs American Economy Hundreds of Millions of Dollars

The Wall Street Journal reported on a recent study from Menopause, The Journal of the North American Menopause Society, claiming that women in menopause who experience hot flashes that are left untreated cost the American economy hundreds of millions of dollars. The study evaluates the ways in which untreated vasomotor symptoms, also known as hot flashes, keep women away from the workplace more often than those who seek medical treatment. Some women in the untreated group wind up leaving the workforce altogether. The researchers reviewed health insurance claims of over 500,000 women at Fortune 500 companies between the years 1999 and 2011. What they found was that women with hot flashes made 1.5 million more visits to a health care provider than women who did not experience hot flashes amounting to more than $340 million in medical care. The researchers estimate that the total cost of revenue lost from missing work days is equal to about $27.7 million dollars.

Experts Create New Name for Genital and Urinary Changes that Occur During Menopause

The North American Menopause Society and the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health have endorsed a new name for the genital and urinary changes that occur during menopause. Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, or GSM, now replaces atrophic vaginitis and vulvovaginal atrophy. The problem with atrophic vaginitis is that it relates to inflammation, which is not the main problem. Vulvovaginal atrophy uses the word, “vagina,” which may be embarrassing for some to say. The new term encompasses the importance of urinary health during menopause including frequent, painful urination and recurring urinary tract infections.

Researchers Find 8 Genes that May Lead to High Cancer Cell Growth Rate in Breast Cancer Patients

Researchers at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a new way to find the genetic drivers of cancer. The researchers studied several cancer causing pathways. These pathways are the genetic alterations where normal cells turn into cancerous cells, including the pathway that determines cancer cell growth rate. A high growth rate of cancer cells often means a poor prognosis for a breast cancer patient. The researchers found a total of 8 genes that may lead to high growth rate of cancer cells in breast cancer patients.

Women with Severe Disabilities and Multiple Chronic Illnesses Screened for Breast Cancer Less Often

Women with severe disabilities and multiple chronic illnesses in Ontario, Canada are screened less often for breast cancer than women who have few or no disabilities or chronic illnesses, according to an article in Preventive Medicine. This research has been found to be consistent with similar studies that evaluate breast cancer screening rates amongst women with low income and education.

High Salt Intake Leads to High Blood Pressure

The New York Times reports a new study from The New England Journal of Medicine confirming that a diet high in salt is bad for people with high blood pressure. This news comes after researchers evaluated over 100,000 people in 18 countries. They found that the participants who consumed more salt had significantly higher blood pressure than those who ate less salt.