Perimenopause: only 28% of women have enough awareness about it

Have you seen the new perimenopause report by ōURA??

• According to the report, only 28 % of women know what’s going to happen during perimenopause.
• Perimenopause results in up to 2 hours of lost sleep each week as women transition from perimenopause to post menopause (69% of hot flashes happen during the night).
• Women in perimenopause are 44% more likely do experience migraines.
• Heart rate variability declines 20 to 30%.

The report is based on de-identified data from more than 100,000 female Oura members.

Earlier this year, Oura partnered with Clue and University of California, Berkeley to study the effect of perimenopause on women. In general, the smart ring manufacturer is going strong on health partnerships this year, compared to more of a retail focus in 2023.

In 2024 Oura partnered with hormone-testing platforms, fertility apps and women's health care providers (and, on top of it, Oura is now hiring a Chief Medical Officer).

For the context it's important to remember that scientific terminology for menopause and reproductive ageing was initially defined only in 1980, and only then concerted research efforts around menopause started.

Lately, we see more new studies around perimenopause emerge:

• New research by Cardiff University (a study on 130 000 women) links perimenopause to increased risk of bipolar (an 112% increase in incidence) and major depression (a 30% increase in incidence). The study is the first known investigation into the link between first-onset psychiatric disorders in the years around menopause.
• Another study (yet to be published and peer-reviewed) reports there may be a link between estrogen levels and sleeping issues in perimenopausal women. The study, based on the data from 500 perimenopausal women, found that those who reported sleeping between 6 and 9 hours a night showed significantly higher levels of estrogen compared to those who slept fewer hours night.

The need for new research and therapies is urgent first of all, to help women get an adequate level of care and improve their quality of live, but even to reduce the burden of (peri)menopause: according to Mayo Clinic, it results into an estimated $1.8 billion in lost work time per year and $26.6 billion annually when medical expenses are added, in the U.S. alone.