How important is genetic screening for menopause?

In this article, Dr Victoria Owen, a highly esteemed London-based GP, details what menopause is, outlines the main associated symptoms, and reveals what role genetic screening plays in menopause treatment.

What is menopause, and what role does genetic screening play in menopause?

Menopause occurs when women lose their female hormones, and occurs to every woman somewhere between the ages of 40 and 50. 90 per cent of women say that they have no education around menopause, and 60 to 70 per cent only start looking for information about it once they start to develop symptoms.

The main symptoms include hot sweats, brain fog, anxiety, and fatigue. We are finding that women not going for information early enough means that they are entering this period without adequate information and/or treatment.

A lot of women who come for treatment are very worried about taking hormone replacement therapy, as they fear it may cause cancer. This, however, is not correct, and has an extremely low incidence of cancer. We are now able to do genetic screening on someone who is worried, which gives us an indication of individualised, personal risk.

How important is genetic screening for menopause?

Genetic screening is a really exciting addition to the testing that we are able to do. When patients come in, we make sure we check their blood pressure. Then, after this, we can then do genetic screening. This allows us to assess their individual risk of cancers.

What can I expect when I go for genetic screening for menopause?

When you come for genetic screening, you have to give informed consent. Patients need to be made aware that sometimes the results were not what they might have been expecting, as the screening can detect something relating to an entirely different body part.

Once you have given consent, then you will take the test, which will either be a mouth swab or a blood test, which then goes for analysis. Neither the swab nor the blood test are painful, and both only take a couple of seconds to do. It takes about four weeks to get the results back. You will have a follow-up after results are given.

Will I suffer from menopause regardless of the genetic screening results?

Every woman goes through menopause. Some women are lucky and have less symptoms than others, although research is showing that 70 to 80 per cent of women do have significant symptoms.

If you would like further information about menopause, make sure you make an appointment with Dr Victoria Owen today via her Top Doctors profile.