Los Angeles Sentinel: Women’s Health Uncovered—Hormonal Shifts

The Los Angeles Sentinel podcast series “All About Black Health” recently interviewed Jessica Chan, MD, associate professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Cedars-Sinai, about perimenopause, menopause and the disparities in symptoms that Black women face.

Chan told podcast host Nicole Williams that as women age, their ovaries release less estrogen, prompting menstrual transitions. Menopause occurs, typically in middle age, when a woman has not had a menstrual cycle for 12 months and she stops menstruating. Perimenopause can begin four to 10 years earlier and can cause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and mood swings.

“[Estrogen] is on almost every cell in a woman's body—from her brain to her bones to her blood vessels—and that's why when a person goes through perimenopause, it really impacts all of those systems,” Chan said.

Chan noted that the average age of menopause is 50 or 51, but Black women often experience it earlier, around age 48, and typically have more severe symptoms than white or Asian women. She added that menopausal symptoms have historically been dismissed as women “just being hormonal” and said more education is needed on disparities and on how to recognize and treat symptoms, beginning in medical school.

Chan told Williams that as menopause is more openly discussed, women can better support one another.

“There is a lot of shame in this loss of fertility but maybe we need to change the script a little bit—this is something we're all going through,” Chan said.

Estrogen and progesterone hormone replacement therapies can significantly reduce symptoms, Chan said, and she encourages women to discuss treatment options with their providers.

Listen to the entire episode from the Los Angeles Sentinel.