Menopause Doesn't Affect MS Progression, Major Study Concludes

Key TakeawaysMenopause does not make MS worse, researchers sayResults show no difference in MS symptoms due to menopauseExperts had worried fluctuating hormone levels might affect MS progression.FRIDAY, Oct. 3, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Menopause does not increase symptoms and disability among women with multiple sclerosis, a major new study has concluded.Some experts had been concerned that fluctuating hormone levels associated with menopause might affect severity of the neurodegenerative disease, researchers said.MS disability notably increases around age 50, which coincides with the age many women experience menopause, noted senior researcher Vilija Jokubaitis, deputy head of translational medicine at Monash University in Australia.But results showed that “menopause is not associated with an increased risk of disability accumulation in women with MS,” she said in a news release.“Therefore, the increases in disability we see around the age of 50 are not directly due to menopause, but are likely due to other aging processes that affect all people irrespective of sex or gender,” Jokubaitis said.The study was published Sept. 29 in JAMA Neurology.MS occurs when the body's own immune system attacks the central nervous system, damaging the protective sheath around nerve fibers called myelin. This disrupts signals to and from the brain, causing a variety of symptoms that impede the senses and impact the ability to move, according to the Mayo Clinic.The disorder affects three times more women than men, researchers said in background notes.“During perimenopause, the amount of estrogen and progesterone in women fluctuates a lot, before levels of these hormones fall significantly at menopause,” Jokubaitis said. “In this study we asked whether the loss of sex hormones at menopause could be the reason for MS worsening in women at midlife.”For the study, researchers analyzed data for more than 120,000 people with MS around the globe, using the world’s largest MS clinical outcomes register.The team also tracked nearly 1,000 Australian women with MS, of whom about 40% had gone through menopause. Their average age of menopause was just under 49, and the women were followed for just over 14 years.Results showed no association at all between menopause and a woman’s disability progression with MS.These results should reassure women with MS facing menopause, lead researcher Dr. Francesca Bridge, a neurologist at Alfred Health in Melbourne, Australia, said in a news release.“The menopausal transition can be challenging for many women,” Bridge said. “This study gives women with MS one less thing to be concerned about.”That doesn’t mean menopause is easy for women with MS, Bridge said. Hot flashes, memory problems, mood swings and urinary symptoms can overlap with MS-related symptoms.But these results will help inform how women manage both menopause symptoms and problems related to MS, including lifestyle changes and use of hormone therapy, Bridge said.“Women with MS will benefit from the holistic management of menopausal symptoms with lifestyle measures such as exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, as well as pharmacological measures such as menopausal hormone therapy and non-hormone-based medications to improve their symptoms and quality of life,” she said.More informationThe National Multiple Sclerosis Society has more on menopause and MS.SOURCES: Monash University, news release, Sept. 29, 2025; JAMA Neurology, Sept. 29, 2025.What This Means For YouWomen with MS do not have to worry that menopause will increase their disability, researchers say..Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Menopause Doesn't Affect MS Progression, Major Study Concludes

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