Menopause: UK & Worldwide Statistics & Trends For 2022/23
Despite being something every woman goes through, a woman’s relationship with menopause is complicated. You’d think with all our technological innovations, several industrial revolutions and a world drowning in data, we’d have gotten on top of it by now.
Speaking of data, let’s look at the worldwide numbers and the UK around “the Menopause” with a capital M. All the data seems to point to the fact that we still haven’t got to the bottom of this tricky hormone-fuelled life event.
What Do The Numbers Say?
Self-care
50% of women in Great Britain aged 45-65 years go through menopause without consulting a medical professional
73% of women in the US say they don’t treat their menopausal symptoms
Home life
50% of women had confirmed that menopause impacted negatively on their home life
69.5% of women said they needed health information on breast cancer
50% of women said menopause had negatively impacted their sex life
34% of women said that they had developed depression and anxiety
At work
90% of women say their workplaces offer NO help for menopausal women workers
Of the firms that do offer support: 5% offer free advice, 3% have policies in place, and 3% of line managers are given relevant training
73% of women reported having hot flushes at work
63% said they regularly felt tired or drowsy at work
29% have lost self-confidence because of memory difficulties
Market info
The menopause market is estimated to be worth $ 14.7 billion in 2020
The market is expected to grow each year by 5.7% reaching £22.7 billion by 2028
Femtech’s worth is expected to reach $60 billion by 2027.
“1 in 2 women in Great Britain, aged 45-65 years, go through menopause without consulting a medical professional.”
A survey conducted by IPSOS Mori for the British Menopause Society earlier revealed that 1 in 2 women in Great Britain, aged 45-65 years, go through menopause without consulting a medical professional. With a population of some 67 million at the time (51% of which are women), that’s a significant number.
The same study also found that 50% of women had confirmed that menopause impacted negatively on their home life. In addition, 50% of women said menopause had impacted negatively on their sex life.
A similar scenario occurs in the US, with 73% of women saying they did not treat their menopausal symptoms.
These findings reveal a huge need for information, education, and a support network to help women cope with menopause as it impacts every aspect of life, both at home and work.
Reliable Information Needed
A study aimed at determining women’s health information needs was recently undertaken in the UK. A total of 301 women aged 48–55 years took part. Below are the results of the study.
The frequency of “yes” responses to women who were asked if they needed to know more about information items related to the menopause:
- Breast cancer (69.5%)
- Hot flushes (66.5%)
- Cervical cancer (64.5%)
- Non-hormonal therapies for menopausal symptoms (64%)
- Laboratory diagnosis tests (63%)
- Joint and muscle pain (62.5%)
Click to see the full table:
The main sources of information were
- Audio-visual media (57%)
- Obstetricians (55%)
- Friend (52%)
- Family (52%)
- The internet ( 51%)
The two main challenges were:
- Not knowing how to correctly access information (38%)
- Not being aware of reliable sources of information (36%)
All the above findings point to a shortage of trustworthy health information or an overload of information. The problem may well be that more and more people need to learn how to evaluate information critically.
Menopause In The Workplace
It would appear that almost everywhere, women going through menopause struggle with some symptoms that negatively impact their work performance. Plus, a staggering 90% of women say their workplaces offer no help for menopausal women workers.
“Out of the 10% that do help: 5% offer free advice, 3% have policies in place 3% of line managers are given relevant training.”
The same study found women at work experienced:
- Hot flushes (73%)
- Tiredness or drowsiness (63%)
- Low mood (48%)
- Struggling to concentrate (47%)
- Trouble with their memory (43%)
As a result, 34% of women said that they had developed depression and anxiety, while 29% had significantly lost self-confidence.
With an estimated 1 billion women worldwide experiencing menopause by 2025, there may be a huge opportunity for what’s termed “femtech”. So just how big is the menopause market?
Menopause In The Market
In the US, some research organisations have estimated the worth of the menopause market to be $14.7 billion in 2020. The global menopause market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% from 2021 to 2028 to reach $22.7 billion by 2028.
Initially, femtech focused on postpartum care, but indications are that it will move into all areas of women’s health. Let’s hope menopause gets the femtech makeover; it certainly is highly eligible.
What is femtech and why is it important?
Femtech is a technology that focuses on women’s health and significantly improves their lives.
“Femtech’s worth is expected to reach $60 billion by 2027.”
The industry is expected to grow steadily in the next five years as women speak out more openly about their health needs. As a result, Femtech’s worth is expected to reach $60 billion by 2027.
In Britain, menopausal women and their pounds sterling are of growing interest to marketers and campaign managers.
According to an editorial, British corporate brands are developing policies to support employees going through menopause. These policies also aim to educate their entire workforce on issues surrounding menopause.
The UK Leads The Way
The good news is that Britain appears to be ahead of the pack in developing policies and establishing a menopausal-friendly corporate culture.
Last month, the UK established the UK Menopause Taskforce to coordinate and work together on support for women across all nations, holding their first meeting.
Making Gina available without prescription
One of their first tasks is to implement a consultation into the reclassification of a low-dose hormone replacement therapy (HRT) product called Gina, which will be available without a prescription if the reclassification is successful.
This is the first time HRT has been considered for sale over the counter, marking significant progress in ensuring women can more easily access menopause treatment.
“Millions of women go through menopause every year, with the majority experiencing a severe impact on everyday life.”
The task force comes ahead of the publication of the first government-led Women’s Health Strategy for England to tackle the gender health gap. Millions of women go through menopause every year, with the majority experiencing symptoms that can be severe and have a negative impact on everyday life.
The task force will tackle issues surrounding menopause, including increasing access to treatment and ending the taboos and stigmas that still surround conversations about menopause, including in the workplace.
Every single one of us has a mother and, if we’re lucky, a grandmother; we have women friends, cousins, aunts and besties. By talking about our menopause journey or struggle to the women, men and colleagues in our lives, we can all help improve awareness and education of this significant part of the life cycle.
“Let’s have the M conversation.”
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