KARACHI: Experts recommend exercise, other steps: Seminar on menopausal problems
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, April 9: Speakers at a conference on Sunday stressed the need for increasing awareness about menopause so that women could turn the natural episode of their life after 40 into a healthy ageing process, instead of taking that as an illness.
They were of the view that menopausal women needed a holistic and helpful attitude, which among other things, also allowed them to express their feelings freely and live a life free of many physical and emotional pressures.
About the age of menopause it was said that in Pakistan it started at the age of 49, while in UK it began at 51. The menopausal problems could be overcome through exercise, dieting and hormone intake management and medical management befittingly.
The one-day medical conference involving scientists from India and Pakistan was organized by the Pakistan Menopause Society (PMS) and Indian Menopause Society (IMS) with the collaboration of the Ziauddin Medical University.
Former PMS president Prof Asif Zia highlighted the important aspects related to premature menopause and its management, and said that ceasing of menstruation was nothing to do with premature ovarian failure.
Dr Jyothi Unni shed light on delayed menopause. She said that the average age of menopause inception in woman was around 51, while the related symptoms and problems enhanced after the birth of third child.
She said that menopause could lead to adverse effects, including breast cancer and it could have also some beneficial points such as it could resist against cardiovascular diseases.
IMS President Dr Behram Anklesaria described the staging of menopause. He said that over 470 million women were affected by ceasing of menstruation.
Prof M. A. Qureshi of the DUHS maintained that menopause, the end of women’s menstrual periods, was a natural event and not a disease. All the emotional and psychological problems can be solved by doing exercise as part of routine life, he added.
He said that menopause could cause problems but it could also mark the beginning of a life free of many physical and emotional pressures. However, unhelpful attitude towards menopause could play a part in increasing stress, he added, saying that one positive step towards an untroubled menopause was to look upon it as a natural stage in life and emphatically not as form of illness.
Dr Bipsa Sen from Kolkata, India made a presentation of a study about the diversity of menopause symptoms in urban and rural areas of West Bengal. Dr Rubina Sohail of PMS described how menopause effected the quality of life and how could the life be improved.
Dr Meeta Singh from India said that hormone therapy should be used for the control of menopause symptoms as a short term therapy. She said that hormone therapy should neither be taken as a fountain of youth nor elixir of evil, but it was safe only when used properly.
Prof Geeta Pandya from Mumbai discussed various remedies. Prof Batool Mazhar said that the long-term use of phyto-estrogens in menopausal symptoms could improve the cognitive behaviours and bone mineral density, while soy consumption could decrease the risk of breast cancer.
Dr Furrukh Zaman, president of PMS, Dr Shaheen Zafar, Prof Jokhio, Prof M Z Jilani, Dr Zaki Idrees, Dr Tayab Aslam, Dr Mahindar Ahooja, Dr Shafaq Zahoor, Prof Javed Rizvi, Dr Shan-i-Elahi from Lahore, Dr Shahnaz Hasan and Prof Syeda Batool Mazhar also spoke.
