Yael Swica, MD | Menopause, PCOS, PMS, Women's Health
Yael Swica, MD | Menopause, PCOS, PMS, Women's Health
An interview with Dr Yael Swica, by Karen Russo, originally published on Hello Gloria.
Perimenopause, meaning “around menopause,” is nature’s allegedly gentle fade to the end of women’s menstrual cycle. But the vagueness around “around” is confusing, and the transition is often anything but gentle.
(more…)Click here to see the original interview on Instagram.
Although entering your 40s is an important milestone full of new chapters and experiences, for many women, aging is the start of health changes. Women over 40 are typically more at risk for heart disease, osteoporosis, and cancer, and so it’s important to be more cognizant of these areas of your health going forward. Fortunately, you can easily do that by being prepared with the right questions to ask the doctor when you go in for your annual check-up or gynecological exam. We asked Dr. Yael Swica, a women’s health doctor and Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at Columbia University, what questions you should be asking your doctor:
Click below for an mp3 of the interview (51 minutes)
Yael Swica MD was interviewed by Kristin Sturt at Grandparents.com for an article entitled, 6 Ways Your Vagina Changes as You Age.
For the most reliable and trustworthy source of information on menopause on the web, see the official website of the North American Menopause Society.
My practice is affiliated with the Center for Menopause.
See published letter to New York Times:
To the Editor:
“Too Many Bone Tests for Some, and Too Few for Others” (The Consumer. Aug. 28) neglects to mention one effective and well-tolerated treatment for postmenopausal women under 65 who are at high risk for osteoporosis: hormone replacement therapy. The reduction in fracture risk associated with use of hormone therapy is comparable to that from bisphosphonate drugs, and its use addresses the most salient cause of this disease that so disproportionately affects older women: loss of estrogen.
Yael Swica, M.D.
Manhattan
A good website from the Office on Women’s Health, Department of Health and Human Services.
A scientific article that questioned the existence of PMS created a stir. The Atlantic Monthly published an article based on the article’s findings. These are my thoughts about the study:
Twenty six out of the 47 articles in Roman et al.’s meta-analysis had sample sizes of 50 or fewer, only three used a random sample, very few used a comparison group (i.e. non-cycling women such as those using the pill or other anovulatory agent), none included in their methodology an a priori quantification of what is a meaningful increase in symptoms of PMS, the list goes on. The authors themselves expressed their regret over how flawed or inadequate the studies were. The most reasonable conclusion for the authors to have drawn is not that the research to date fails to provide evidence of PMS and therefore it must be a cultural construct, but rather that the research to date has been of such poor quality that it is unable to answer the question of whether or not menstrual cycles significantly affect mood and quality of life. The adage “garbage in, garbage out” applies.