Menopause awareness on the rise in S'pore

2024 marked the year more Singapore women broke the silence surrounding menopause.

- Stephanie Yeo

While their mothers suffered without complaint, more women in midlife today are seeking help for menopause, which marks the end of a woman's fertility and is defined as 12 months without a period.

Some 1.1 billion women, or one out of eight people worldwide, will be post-menopausal in 2025. The average woman in Singapore hits menopause at age 49, two years earlier than their counterparts in Western societies.

It is preceded by perimenopause, a turbulent time when fluctuating hormones can cause a plethora of physical and mental symptoms such as joint pain, hot flushes and mood swings. Perimenopause can last up to 10 years and affect a woman's health, work and relationships.

More than six in 10 women here experienced at least one moderate to extremely severe symptom during perimenopause and menopause, according to a study published by the National University Hospital's Integrated Women's Health Programme in October 2023. This is a cohort study of 1,200 women aged 45 to 69 that started in 2014.