Top in women’s health: Perimenopause symptoms; biennial breast cancer screening

A recent survey from Women Living Better revealed that 63% of midlife women reported “not feeling like myself” half the time or more over 3 months.

The phrase “not feeling like myself” was most correlated with anxiety/vigilance, fatigue/pain, brain fog, sexual symptoms and volatile mood symptoms.

“With this work, we are trying to normalize and validate experiences for women,” Nina Coslov, MBA, founder of Women Living Better, told Healio. “The hope is that when many women understand that most of these symptoms are part of the perimenopausal period of fluctuating hormones and that it is not a permanent state, they will feel less worried or scared.”

It was the top story in women’s health last week.

In another top story, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published a final recommendation statement that women aged 40 to 74 years be screened for breast cancer every other year.

The recommendation was based in part on a modeling study which revealed that biennial digital breast tomosynthesis mammography from age 40 to 74 years prevented an estimated 8.2 deaths per 1,000 women screened.

Read these and more top stories in women’s health below:

Brain fog, fatigue, mood swings: Defining ‘not feeling like myself’ in perimenopause

The menopausal transition can be associated with a variety of bothersome symptoms, including hot flashes and mood swings, but some women might experience more subtle symptoms that can begin years before the final menstrual period. Read more.

USPSTF: Women should be screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40

Women should be screened for breast cancer every other year starting at age 40 years, according to a new recommendation statement from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Read more.

Premature surgical menopause tied to musculoskeletal discomfort, sarcopenia risk

Premature surgical menopause may increase the likelihood of musculoskeletal discomfort and sarcopenia, highlighting the potential importance of hormones in postmenopausal musculoskeletal health, researchers reported in Menopause. Read more.

Severe maternal morbidity raises risk for mental health hospitalizations, ED visits

Severe maternal morbidity was associated with increased risk for mental health hospitalization or emergency department visit up to 13 years postpartum, according to a population-based Canadian cohort study published in JAMA Network Open. Read more.

Report highlights dangers of excluding pregnant, lactating women from clinical trials

Pregnant and lactating women have historically been excluded from most clinical research, often due to perceptions of greater legal liability if a woman, her fetus or infant is harmed by an intervention. Read more.