International Menopause Society calls upon medical community to improve the vaginal health of postmenopausal women

Recommendations for the management of postmenopausal vaginal atrophy are published in the December 2010 edition of Climacteric, and are available at www.imsociety.org. Patient education materials are also available.

NOTES TO EDITORS

A webcast of the IMS press briefing for World Menopause Day will be available from Monday 11th October at www.imsociety.org.

About the IMS

The International Menopause Society (IMS) was established in 1978 and was the first menopause society in the world. At the time, it signalled to the medical community that there was a need to address specific gender-based and menopause-based issues, which until then had not been regarded as important.

In the following years, many national and regional menopause societies have been formed, but the IMS remains the only society with a global responsibility and, as such, is a leading resource to which the media as well as the medical professionals look for opinion and guidance. This has been particularly important in recent years when the merits of hormone therapy have come under intense debate.

About World Menopause Day

World Menopause Day on October 18th was initiated by the IMS, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, as an opportunity to alert the world to the importance of the menopause and the impact that it has on the lives of so many women all around the world. In observation of the Day, the IMS and the member national societies of CAMS, the Council of Affiliated Menopause Societies, distribute materials and organise activities to inform women about menopause, its management and the impact of oestrogen loss.

About the VIVA (Vaginal Health: Insights, Views & Attitudes) Survey

The VIVA survey was commissioned by Novo Nordisk and conducted by Strategy One, an independent market research company. The survey was conducted online in August 2010, with results received from 3,520 female respondents aged 55-65 years old from Great Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Canada, and the United States of America. The aim of the survey was to evaluate the attitudes of postmenopausal women on the impact of Vaginal Atrophy (VA) and menopause on different aspects of their lives and understand the barriers and challenges to seeking advice and treatment.

Media enquiries contact:
Catherine Taman
Edelman
T: +44 (0)20 3047 2078
catherine.taman@edelman.com

Sturdee DW, Panay N. Recommendations for the management of postmenopausal vaginal atrophy. Climacteric. 2010;13:

Clinic: Vaginal Atrophy Definition. Available at: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vaginal-atrophy/DS00770 Last accessed July 2010

Hextal A. Oestrogens and lower urinary tract function. Maturitas 2000; 36: 83–92.

Research conducted by an independent research agency in the US, Canada, UK, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway and is sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from Novo Nordisk. END