Menopause can have diverse effects on women, ranging from minimal to severe symptoms that impact various aspects of life, including health as well as employment. While the effects on health are better documented, the impact of menopause on employment remains under-explored. Yet, there is a strong link between employment and health, as employment contributes to enhance well-being and cognitive functioning through financial independence, social interactions and a sense of purpose.
Building on these gaps in evidence, this research seeks to explore how menopause affects women’s health, social relationships, cognition, and employment and whether the impacts vary across different groups of women, defined by socio-economic status, education, ethnicity, age at menopause, and geographic location. We also seek to explain the role of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), and whether differential take-up of these drugs helps to understand the observed variation in the impact of menopause across the population.
The project will utilize different empirical methods to analyse data from the UK Biobank. The analysis will cover the association between menopause and various health and economic outcomes, the differentiation of this association across individual characteristics, the patterns of HRT take-up, and how external factors like information dissemination affect HRT usage. The research aims to quantify the extent to which HRT use explains differences in the relationship between menopause and women’s outcomes by subgroups of the population.
In the UK, approximately 13 million women are experiencing the menopause at present, and a high percentage of these women are in employment. Understanding the implications of the menopause on women’s health and ability to work is therefore more critical than ever. Workplace environments that do not recognize and accommodate women’s health needs, such as those related to the menopause, can lead to increased stress, absenteeism, and eventually to reduced employment opportunities with consequent long-term negative effects on cognitive and social functioning. The UK Biobank’s dataset, encompassing information menopause, HRT, several individual outcomes and characteristics will be crucial to perform a thorough analysis of all these aspects.
The project’s findings are expected to inform policymakers, healthcare providers, and community groups about the differential effects of menopause on women’s lives and the potential of HRT in mitigating these impacts. By enhancing understanding and awareness, this research aims to contribute to formulate more effective health policies and support systems that address the unique needs of women undergoing menopause, ultimately benefiting public health and women’s labour market participation.