Companies portray menopause as ‘medical problem’ and push women towards ineffective treatments, papers find

The media tends to focus on extreme negative experiences of menopause, researchers say. Photograph: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc/Getty Images

Many companies have a commercial interest in portraying menopause as a “medical problem”, leaving women inundated with misinformation and pushed towards ineffective treatments, a series of papers published in international medical journal the Lancet has found.

The findings have prompted leading doctors and researchers – including those from the US, UK and Australia – to jointly call for a societal shift that challenges inaccurate assumptions.