Study Finds Menopause Rarely Recorded in US Medical Records, Highlighting Data Gap

An analysis of electronic medical records from roughly 240,000 women enrolled in the NIH-run All of Us Research Program revealed that menopause is documented in only 12% of cases, even though over half of the participants indicated they were undergoing the transition in survey responses. The investigation, appearing in the journal Menopause, highlighted that key information such as age at menopause and symptoms like hot flashes or sleep disturbances is largely absent from both records and surveys.

Researchers examined how documentation varied across demographics, including age, education, race and income. They suggest the lack of recording stems from menopause not being classified as a disease and from patients not raising the issue unless symptoms are severe. To address the gap, the team is creating a brief questionnaire for clinic check-ins and exploring computational methods to infer menopausal status from existing data. They hope improved data capture will enable better studies of menopause’s impact on heart, bone and mental health.