Menopause (from Greek Meno―month, pasis―stop) is defined as a definite stop of the menstruation. This physiological condition takes up to 40% of a woman’s life (considering life expectancy to be around 80 years in industrialized countries) and it is very important as it causes profound changes in women’s health.
Menopause causes 57% - 67% of all the sexual dysfunctions that a woman may suffer during her life, this is reflected in the changes in satisfaction, excitation, lubrication, desire, orgasm and dyspareunia.
There could be more than one cause of dysfunctions that affect sexual health of a woman, there also could be connection between them. Among the categories of sexual dysfunctions there are:
Sexual desire disorder, which is characterized by a lack of, are absence for some period of time of sexual desire or libido for sexual activity. Sexual arousal disorders are a disorder characterized by a persistent or recurrent inability to attain sexual arousal or to maintain arousal until the completion of a sexual activity. The condition is known as a lack or absence of sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity for some period of time. Orgasm disorders are persistent delays or absence of orgasm following a normal sexual excitement phase. Sexual pain disorders like dyspareunia-painful intercourse or vaginismus-an involuntary spasm of the muscles of the vaginal wall that interferes with intercourse.
During menopause biological, psychological and social changes are provoked by the reduction of estrogen number that are being generated, which negatively affects the sexual life of 92.1% of women 75% to 85% of women have menopause symptoms but they are variable and different in every woman:
・ Short-term or acute symptoms: produce vasomotor alterations like hot flashes and neuro-psychic changes, fatigue, insomnia and irritability.
・ Medium term or subacute symptoms: genitourinary apparatus suffers mucocutaneous atrophy.
・ Long term symptoms: cardiovascular problems and osteoporosis appear.
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