Surviving Menopause, Among Other Things

None of it sounds like fun. But which aspect of menopause do American women regard as most daunting? That’s one of the questions posed in a poll conducted for Parade magazine and Research!America. Presented with a list of unpleasant choices, women gave the most mentions to physical discomfort/hot flashes (33 percent), followed by mood swings (17 percent), depression (8 percent), hormonal changes (7 percent) and osteoporosis (5 percent). But 24 percent said “nothing” about going through menopause concerns them the most—which either means they’re unfazed by the matter or that multiple aspects of it seem equally awful.