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Research Outline

Prepared for Lauren S. | Delivered April 15, 2020

Pain Points for US Women

Goals

To find insights that help to understand the pain points of the women in the United States, aged over 40 years, through the lens of menopause/perimenopause, migraine, metabolic energy, immunity, and mental well-being.

Early Findings

  • According to the latest available data, approximately 1.3 million women become menopausal each year in the United States.
  • The typical age when most women in the United States start experiencing menopause is between the ages of 51 and 52.  
  • However, it has been statistically found that nearly 5% of women experience early menopause between the ages of 40 and 45 in the United States, and 1% of women experience premature menopause before the age of 40.
  •  75% of menopausal women in the United States experience vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, palpitations, and migraines.
  •  60% of women experience urogenital symptoms that include vaginal atrophy, urethral atrophy, and sexual dysfunction.
  •  Nearly 45% of women experience psychogenic symptoms including anger/irritability, anxiety/tension, depression, sleep disturbance, loss of concentration, and loss of self-esteem/confidence.
  • The government health authorities in the United States have published several pieces of advice that can be followed to remain healthy in the years around menopause. These pieces of advice include quitting smoking, getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day, getting vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other essential nutrients, and practicing safe sex.
  • In the United States, 28 million women suffer from migraine.
  • Girls are most likely to experience their first migraine during the year their periods begin.
  • However, from the age of 40, migraine in women begins to decrease.
  • According to studies, the patterns of experiencing migraine varies a lot between men and women.
  • Women go through episodic pain and chronic pain more frequently than men as migraine attacks mostly result from changes in estrogen levels.
  • In the United States, 43% of women suffer from migraine. Of those who suffer, 50% go through more than 1 attack each month, and 25% go through 4 or more severe attacks each month.
  •  92% of women who suffer from chronic migraine are disabled.
  • According to the results of a study conducted by the Jackson Laboratory (JAX), located in Bar Harbor, Maine, adult women in the United States are more susceptible to autoimmune disease than their male counterparts.
  • Also, after the age of 65, men display higher innate and pro-inflammatory immune activity and lower adaptive immune function than women.
  • The differences cited above make women, aged over 65 years, more prone to auto-immune diseases than men.