Menopause is not a disease, so it does not necessarily need to be diagnosed or treated. Authors of a series of articles in The Lancet emphasize the dangers of turning menopause into a health problem.

In rich countries, vasomotor symptoms affect up to 80% of women at some point during the process. Controversy remains over hormone therapy, which during the 1960s was provided globally to women with menopausal symptoms with the promise of treating symptoms and even preventing diseases, the authors say.