Jennifer Payne, MD, highlights how to help young women with perimenopause symptoms

In a recent interview with Contemporary OB/GYN, Jennifer Lanier Payne, MD, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at UVA Health, discussed the impact of perimenopausal symptoms on young women’s quality of life and how these symptoms might be managed.

According to Payne, many women aged 30 to 35 years consider experiencing symptoms linked to menopause to be normal. This prevents them from seeking interventions that may improve their quality of life. By reaching out to their patients, OB-GYNs may help them overcome these barriers.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

What prevents young women from reporting their perimenopausal symptoms, and how does this impact their quality of life?

Jennifer Lanier Payne, MD:

So, this study did not explore what factors prevented women from talking to their doctors about their symptoms. But as a clinician primarily who treats women, I can tell you that many women consider symptoms associated with perimenopause to be normal, and they often just kind of dismiss them and don't talk about them with their doctors. In addition, a lot of doctors will be dismissive of symptoms when they're reported in young women. This affects their quality of life, because there are interventions that you can take to help with some of these symptoms, and sometimes it may not be impacting someone's functioning, but they're having significant symptoms that can be better controlled.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

What early perimenopausal symptoms should patients and providers be aware of, and how might these symptoms be managed?

Payne:

So, these symptoms really don't indicate early menopause. So, menopause is when a woman has stopped menstruating for 1 year or longer, when she's in the appropriate age range for stopping menstruation. And what this study shows is that symptoms associated with perimenopause are starting earlier than we expected, and they don't necessarily indicate that a woman's going to go through menopause earlier. The average age of menopause is still 50, but it does indicate that doctors should be talking to younger women about symptoms of perimenopause and making sure that they're not interfering with their life and functioning.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

What advice do you have for clinicians to reach their patients who may be suffering in silence?

Payne:

Well, I think that they should be asking their patients, there is a movement for all physicians to be talking more about mental health symptoms with their patients. I think this study points out that obstetrician-gynecologists could be asking more about mental health symptoms in women in their 30s and 40s, even when they're not pregnant. OB-GYNs are starting to screen for perinatal depression, for example, but I would encourage screening for perimenopausal depression as well.

Contemporary OB/GYN:

Is there anything you would like to add?

Payne:

No, I think, I think this is a topic that we should be researching more, and I think there's a lot more work to be done in perimenopause and the effects it has on women, and I look forward to really talking more about this, this issue, and hopefully improving clinical outcomes for women.

This video is part 2 of a 2-part series. Click here for part 1.

Reference

Young women suffering menopause symptoms in silence, study reveals. University of Virginia Health System. February 25, 2025. Accessed February 28, 2025. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1074704