The truth about sex and the menopause, by a menopause doctor – Telegraph.co.uk

The more sex you have in middle age, the later youll enter the menopause. Thats about the gist of recent headlines after a new study, that followed 3,000 middle aged women for a decade, found those having weekly sex went through the menopause later than those having it less than once a month.

One of the study authors, Megan Arnot, who is studying for a PhD at University College London, said of the studys findings:Theres a use it or lose it kind of thing going on.

However,as a menopause doctor, I think we should take these findings with a pinch of salt. Partly because the study involved questioning women about their sex lives, which always raises the question of how truthful and accurate the answers are. And secondly because the issue of menopause and sex is such a complex one.

Rather than weekly sex delaying the menopause, it could be that women who are in the early stages of the menopause start to have less sex. And this could be for several reasons.

None of the women who took part in the study had yet entered the menopause. However, 46per cent were beginning to experience symptoms, such as changes in their period and hot flushes, which means they were very likely to be perimenopausal, which is the transitional stage leading up to the menopause. Oestrogen and testosterone, two hormones that begin to dip as you approach the menopause and then decline as you go through it,can bevery important for self esteem, self worth, weight gain, and body image. Which, as every woman knows, are very important when it comes to how much sex you feel like having.

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The truth about sex and the menopause, by a menopause doctor - Telegraph.co.uk