The Change - When Menopause Became A Disease
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Health Fitness -> subcategory Women s Issues.
The Change: When Menopause Became a Disease
Imagine being told you need a pill to enjoy the best years of your life. Imagine your identity being reduced to hormones. Welcome to menopause and the rise of the pharmaceutical spin.
Word Count: 821
Keywords: menopause, hormone replacement therapy, HRT
The medicalization of menopause has quietly unfolded since the 1930s, gaining significant momentum in the 1960s. What was once a natural transition has been redefined as a disease.
Labeling menopause as a disease implies mandatory treatment. If not treated appropriately, women may be seen as irresponsible about their health. Initially dismissed as imaginary, women's menopausal experiences became prime targets for pharmaceutical companies, eager to market their pills.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was embraced widely by women, even with known risks, marking a triumph for pharmaceutical marketing.
The Celebrity Influence
Celebrity endorsements have been instrumental in promoting both menopause as a disease and the supposed solutions offered by HRT. While product claims must be substantiated by studies, celebrities are not bound by these regulations. When an actress touts the dangers of menopause ?" from Alzheimer’s to bone fractures ?" as part of a scripted “education” message, it’s seen as legitimate. Yet, there’s no mention of their compensation, the source of their information, or its scientific accuracy. These endorsements often ignored the unknown long-term effects of HRT, presenting celebrities either as unaware participants or indifferent promoters.
Menopause is often described as a ‘decline,’ implying that once estrogen diminishes, so does a woman’s worth. This narrative suggests women must rely on pharmaceuticals to maintain their value, equating femininity with youth and hormones. The implication is clear: lose your femininity, lose your identity.
The Fear of Disease
The specter of diseases supposedly more prevalent post-menopause fueled the fire. If scientists truly understood the causes of conditions like heart attacks or Alzheimer’s, they’d market universal cures, not gender-specific ones. In treating these diseases, doctors follow similar protocols for men and women, and cures are rarely guaranteed. This underlines a lack of understanding, muddying the already complex waters of risk assessment.
Initially, women were prescribed estrogen. However, studies linked estrogen use to higher risks of endometrial cancer. This led to the development of combined HRT with progestogen or progestin. Promoted as a reducer of heart disease risk, this claim was challenged in 1998 by the HERS trial. This high-quality study, involving 3,000 women, revealed that HRT did not protect against heart attacks and initially increased heart attack risks. This contradicted the drug companies' advertising, based on less rigorous observational studies.
Questioning the HRT Narrative
The HERS trial wasn't alone in questioning the menopause treatment narrative. Subsequent research continued to challenge the portrayal of menopause and the pharmaceutical solutions offered.
References
Moynihan, R., & Cassels, A. (2005). Selling Sickness: How Drug Companies are Turning Us All Into Patients. Allen & Unwin.
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