Today, menopause is a well-understood and accepted part of aging. Medical advancement has explained hormones, how they work, and even the symptoms that come with menopause. We know that menopause marks the end of a woman’s fertility and hormones like estrogen and progesterone tightly regulate the female reproductive cycles. Have you ever thought about what ancient beliefs regarding menopause were like? How would we view menopause if we had no idea about hormones? This information would undoubtedly alter our beliefs about the cause of menopause and treatment options. It’s interesting to think about the theories that ancient Greeks and Romans may have had about the transitional period of a woman’s life.
Ancient views on menopause
In ancient Greece, the cause of disease was based on a theory called humorism. This theory was based on the idea that four different bodily fluids directly influenced a person’s health and mood. The four humors were yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm. This actually became the most common theory among European physicians, and they believed that an imbalance in any of these fluids caused disease and disability. In the female reproductive cycle, this theory was applied, as well. It was a commonly held belief that a woman’s monthly menstrual cycles helped to balance these fluids. It follows that prior to a menstrual cycle, ancient physicians believed that premenstrual symptoms were caused by an imbalance of blood. Since menopause is characterized by the cessation of menstrual cycles, ancient physicians believed that the body could no longer properly balance the humors, and that menopause was caused by excess humors. Treatment of menopause was done by applying leeches to the legs, allowing the excess blood to be removed and balance to be restored. Other odd beliefs include pagan tribes who believed that a woman’s period meant she had a covenant with the devil. Some cultures viewed periods as mother nature’s way to cleanse the body between pregnancies.
The discovery of hormones
About 100 years ago, a man named Henry Starling discovered the first hormone. Although a man named Charles Edouard Brown-Sequard had already introduced the idea of human secretions, the idea of specific chemical messengers was not mentioned. Henry Starling demonstrated that acid within the pancreas causes it to secrete a substance called secretin. From this point on, scientific research on hormones took off. Estrogen’s involvement in menopause was confirmed and the hormone replacement therapy was born.
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Menopause
Attitudes and beliefs about menopause widely vary among cultures. Cross-cultural differences provide a highly varied experience among women experiencing menopause, from symptom severity to acceptable forms of treatment, cultural views greatly shape women’s attitude on the transitional period. A study done on Japanese women going through menopause yielded interesting results; it seems as though the work environment directly affects symptom severity. Women working blue-collar, or factory jobs, women working on farms, and women who were homemakers were all included in the study. The prevalence of hot flashes was low among all groups, but all of the women seemed to suffer from symptoms like shoulder stiffness, headache, and musculoskeletal pain. Japanese women often have the lowest incidence in hot flashes and depression when compared with U.S. and Canadian women. It’s interesting to note that Japanese women do not have a word for “hot flashes” in their language – which means they had to explain this phenomenon in different words. The study noted that Asian women do not have similar views on menopause as women in the states.
Another study conducted in the U.S. also noted Asian women as having a lower prevalence of menopausal symptoms, whereas African-American women had a high prevalence of vasomotor symptoms. The study also found that African-American women tend to reach menopause significantly earlier than other groups, but recounted that their mothers had provided them with knowledge and tools to handle difficulties with menopause – whereas other groups did not. These studies show that although we are equipped with plenty of scientific knowledge about the basis of menopause, the relationship between hormones and symptoms is very complex. Differences in language, lifestyle factors, and beliefs all play a role in the menopause experience.
Women's Health, Life, & Beyond 