What women of color need to know about menopause

While menopause is a universal transition that affects all women, research increasingly shows that Black and Latina women can face distinct challenges during this life stage — ranging from the individual to the systemic. Medical researchers are beginning to learn more about these differences, launching studies specifically focused on the menopausal experiences of women of color and developing more culturally-competent treatment approaches.

In the meantime, here are the top things every woman of color needs to know about menopause — and that you’re not imagining things or in this alone.

Research shows that Black women spend 3.5 more years than white women experiencing symptoms of perimenopause, the stage leading up to menopause; Black women and Latinas can experience certain menopausal symptoms for almost twice as long as white, Chinese, and Japanese women. This can be difficult because perimenopause is when hormone levels fluctuate, causing most women, regardless of race, to experience the bulk of their unpleasant menopausal symptoms — and women of color are going through it for years longer than their peers.

Some studies show that women of color go through menopause earlier, too. While the average age of menopause in the U.S. is around 51.4 years old, it varies when broken down by race. For example, Black women have been shown to experience menopause on average eight and a half months earlier than white women. This can be challenging because going through menopause younger means more time battling issues that come from lower estrogen like bone density, muscle loss, and accompanying weight gain.

For Black and Latina women, vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats are more prevalent, more bothersome, and longer-lasting — with research showing they can last for up to 10 years compared to 6.5 years in white women.

“Other studies corroborate that, and some newer data shows that Native American women may have the most severe vasomotor symptoms,” says Dr. Monica Christmas, M.D., director of the Center for Women’s Integrated Health at UChicago Medicine.

Sleep is especially affected for women of color, possibly because of night sweats. Research shows Black women sleep less and have more interrupted sleep than white women, and Black women are also twice as likely to be sleep-deprived, getting less than six hours of sleep.

Women of color have higher rates of chronic conditions before entering menopause, which can be compounded by menopause, especially early menopause.

Don’t suffer in silence. “Hot flashes and night sweats have been linked to heart disease and stroke in later life, so it’s important to address and treat them,” says Tene T. Lewis, Ph.D., professor of epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.

Untangling exactly why many women of color experience earlier menopause and more severe symptoms is complex, without an easy answer. Structural racism is a major contributor, including socioeconomic challenges, discrimination, and a lack of access to health care. This adds stress on the body, sometimes referred to as “allostatic load”; Black women have the highest allostatic load of all groups.

Chronic inflammation becomes more prevalent, oxidative stress increases, and the body's regulatory systems face constant strain, which can directly affect the timing of menopause by influencing the rate at which ovarian follicles are depleted, though more study is needed, says Yamnia I. Cortés, Ph.D., associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Nursing and director of the CortésMenoLab.

A healthy diet, exercise, and stress management are key for both managing menopause symptoms and improving overall quality of life. And while the burden shouldn’t be on you to work harder to seek out good care and support, make sure you’re seeing a health provider who understands menopause, women of color, and who you feel comfortable with. WeightWatchers clinicians are specially trained in this life stage, and ready to help. Share your symptoms and concerns, and they can help you with a lifestyle plan and possibly medication (if needed) to feel good.