Women's Health and Menopause

The population structure in the world is rapidly changing, to the extent that in 75 years we will face a tripling of the elderly population. Although women are favored in terms of life expectancy, they also live with a longer period of disability (approximately twice that of aging men), as well as with the enemies of all the elderly, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and dementia. Menopause is the endocrine event that overlaps with aging, potentially worsening both the quality of life and the risks of disease in women. §While the effect of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on menopausal symptoms is generally viewed as rapid and consistent, and is thereby accepted by the scientific community, its relationship to the other aforementioned chronic conditions associated with menopause is considered variable and controversial. §In analyzing these complex issues, this volume yields new and significant insights into both the study of menopause-related disorders and their treatment, by illustrating the most recent information on mechanisms of actions of new estrogen receptors and on the use of sophisticated techniques of statistical analysis for population-based studies.