The menopause symptoms hot flashes and night sweats strike about 80% of women—and can last more than a decade. 

Additionally, nearly half of the 50 million menopausal women in the United States suffer from vaginal dryness and changes that can lead to sexual discomfort and increase the risk of getting urinary tract infections. Though both hormonal and nonhormonal therapies can safely and effectively improve vaginal health, one study found only about 11% of women who sought help from physicians found it.

But menopause is more complicated than its wretched side effects: The dramatic decline in estrogen, which happens to most women around age 51, changes the body in ways that are still not fully understood—by women or doctors. 

We know that menopause coincides with a rise in a woman's blood pressure and bad cholesterol, which increases heart disease risk. We know that during the first year of menopause, bone density dips drastically, putting women at risk for osteoporosis. But only recently have we begun to understand the connections between menopause and depression, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and sexual health. 

"Often we think of menopause as simply the end of a woman's periods, but it's really a systemic and global change throughout the whole body," says Jessica Chan, MD, assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, who specializes in reproductive endocrinology. 

"We know menopause impacts patients' quality of life, but we don't know to what extent we could be helping them get through it," she adds. "We need more dedicated research so we can take care of women as they transition—not just ease their symptoms, but improve their long-term health."

Chrisandra Shufelt, MD, director of the Women's Hormone and Menopause Program, a specialized clinic in the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center at the Smidt Heart Institute, says our collective understanding of menopause is still recovering from the confusion that arose over the course of a decade about the risks of menopause hormone therapy.  Physicians are beginning to recognize that women deserve individualized treatment for their concerns, "to treat the right symptoms at the right time," she says.

"Menopause is not just about the reproductive system," she says. "The symptoms can be different in every woman, and they're vast and impact probably every area of our bodies. It's not terribly surprising that if doctors are confused about menopause, patients are going to be confused about menopause."