Menopause, A Universal Female Experience: Lessons from Mexico and Central America

Abstract

In Mexico and Central America, women typically experience menopause up to 10 years earlier than their U.S. counterparts. This may be due in part to numerous pregnancies, long periods of lactation, poor nutrition, extreme environment, and the heavy workload of the Maya women. Unlike Western culture, there is no stigma associated with aging and the menopausal period in the Mayan culture. In fact, menopause is considered to be a welcome natural phenomenon in Central America that all Maya women, who come of age, will experience. Anxiety, negative attitudes, health concerns and stress for the Maya woman are all events that are commonly associated with pregnancy and childbearing, not with menopause. Maya women perceive the menopausal period very positively, as they are no longer burdened with menstrual bleeding and child bearing, and are more relaxed about sexual activities.Thus, compared with their U.S. counterparts, Maya women have a better overall perceptions and attitudes toward the menopausal transition, have symptoms that appear to be short-lived, do not generally use HRT and appear to have a lower prevalence of osteoporosis. Besides genetics, diet and life-style may play a significant role in the overall impact of menopause in these women, as their diet is primarily plant-based, they get plenty of exercise over a lifetime, and they use primarily plant-based medicines and massage to control menopausal symptoms. Thus, the impact of culture and attitude on the menopausal transition in Mexico and Central America appears to be a positive one. Future research should focus on why the prevalence of osteoporosis is low in Maya women and how women in the U.S. might benefit from this information. In addition, collections of data on cognition, as well as cardiovascular and cancer risk between these groups would be of benefit, considering that Maya women do not generally use HRT.

Abdominal pain during the menopause transition and early postmenopause: observations from the Seattle Midlife Women’s Health Study

“…The MT includes three stages— Early Menopause Transition , Late Menopause Transition , and Early Postmenopause —each of which is distinguished by progressive irregularity and eventual cessation of the menstrual cycle, outlined in detail elsewhere in this paper. Many physical and psychosocial symptoms can accompany this transition, the severity of which disrupts women’s quality of life (QOL) to varying degrees [2, 3]. A 2016 study revealed that of a representative sample of 3397 US women with an age range of 40–69 years, 52% would always prefer a reduced lifespan to experiencing menopausal symptoms at their worst for 30 days [4].…”

Mexican traditional medicines for women’s reproductive health

“…Depending on their geographical location within Mexico, it is estimated that between 12 to 60% of Mexican women depend on MTM practices and herbal medicines for their primary healthcare needs 8,51,[65][66][67][68]70,71,[79][80][81][82][83] . The use of MTM is more prevalent in rural areas where access to modern clinics and healthcare is limited, especially during pregnancy.…”

“…The IMSS and the Mexican Ministry of Health and Welfare operate most of the healthcare clinics, and the lack of staffing of community healthcare workers and physicians, may make the quality of care inconsistent, and not culturally sensitive 79 . Language is also an important aspect of healthcare, and since many Western trained health workers do not speak indigenous languages, indigenous women often have difficulty explaining their symptoms 66,67,83 . Many Mexican women prefer MTM healers, as well as birthing services offered by midwives rather than nurses and doctors, because midwives incorporate traditional beliefs and medicinal plants into their work, thus preserving the connection with their culture.…”

“…Beyond commonly used herbal medicines with experimental or clinical data, many of the plants used by women in MTM have little in the way of supporting pharmacological data. This is critically important as herbal medicines are commonly used by Mexican women during pregnancy (Tables 1 and 2) 22,51,[65][66][67][68][69][70][71] . Alonso-Castro et al 51 reported a statistically significant (p < 0.05) use of both medicinal plants and allopathic medicines by Mexican women during the prenatal and postnatal periods.…”

The effect of Cornus mas extract consumption on bone biomarkers and inflammation in postmenopausal women: A randomized clinical trial

“…Menopause, also known as the climacteric, is defined as the cessation of menstruation for successive 12 months (Mahady et al, 2008). Menopause syndrome can lead to uncomfortable symptoms of hot flushes, psychological symptoms, as well as reproductive tract complications such as vaginal dryness and loss of libido (Al‐Azzawi, 2001).…”