Endocrine Abstracts

JOINT2734

Introduction: Women over 40 are the fastest-growing demographic workforce worldwide. Women aged 40–65 constitute up to 50 – 60 % of the active female workforce. During this career stage, women are usually at the peak of their proficiency and experience but often face challenges related to menopausal transition (perimenopause/menopause period), with symptoms that negatively impact their work work and career development.

Aim: We aimed to investigate the relationship between menopausal symptoms and work and career development.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with snowball sample of 1562 women, aged 40-65 (Mean = 49; SD = 5. 45), working full time in private (52%), public (46. 1%) and non-governmental organisation (NGO) (1. 9%) sectors. Menopausal symptoms were assessed using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), while work ability was measured via the Work Ability Index (WAI). Additional measures included perceptions of symptom-related work problems (SWP), menopause hormone treatment (MHT) use, and menopause as career risk (MCR), measured with three questions: intent to leave the job, skipped promotion due to menopausal symptoms and whether menopause was viewed as non-threatening for their professional goals.

Results: There was a moderate negative correlation between WAI and MRS (r(1561) = -. 56; p <. 001), WAI and SWP (r(1561) = -. 60; p <. 001) and a weak positive correlation between MRS and MCR (r(1481) =. 34; p <. 001). Hierarchical linear regression showed that menopausal symptoms had the strongest effect on work ability, when controlled for age and MHT. Age and MHT were entered in the first block, and MRS subscales and SWP as predictors. The first model was found to be significant F(2, 1560) = 14. 32, P < . 001, R² =. 02 showing that younger age and MHT had a protective effect against diminished work ability (β = -. 11; p <. 001, β= -. 08; p <. 001 respectively). Furthermore, the second model (F(6, 1556) = 185. 31, P < . 001, R²=. 42) showed that psychological symptoms and SWP were the only significant predictors (β = -. 27; P <. 001 and β = -. 38; P <. 001) of work ability, whereas vasomotor and urogenital symptoms did not affect work ability.

Conclusion: The results of our study show that women’s work and careers are negatively impacted by menopause with psychological symptoms having the most profound detrimental effect, stressing the need to understand menopause and its consequences beyond vasomotor symptoms. Thus, these findings highlight the need for interdisciplinary collaboration, mental health support and increased workplace awareness.