Did you know menopause symptoms are different for women of colour and when it comes to Black women vasomotor symptoms can be particularly bad?
It's as if menopause is the equivalent of a perfect storm with black women experiencing worse symptoms and far worse health outcomes.
The SWAN study that followed women of many ethnic backgrounds in the US for 25 years found that Black women experienced vasomotor symptoms more severely, more frequently and for longer than their white counterparts.
It also found that they had a greater cardiovascular risk, more depression, more metabolic syndrome and diabetes and poorer sleep.
A UCL study found that Black women were 25% more likely to develop dementia than White women
It also looked at the complex interaction of socio-economic influences and the impact of discrimination on health outcomes.
In this chat, Dr Itunu Johnson-Sogbetun, known as Dr Sho or Dr Johnson, a GP with a special interest in women’s health, sexual and reproductive health, and menopause care, discusses how these factors all come together to create poorer health outcomes, but, what we can do to turn that around.
A must listen.
