Overview
- Using Swedish and Norwegian administrative and medical data, researchers find women’s incomes fall an average 4.3% in the four years after a menopause diagnosis, reaching about 10% by year four.
- The decline stems from a lower probability of remaining employed and fewer contracted hours, alongside a 4.8% increase in disability benefit claims.
- The income penalty is concentrated among women without university degrees, while graduates do not see comparable losses, which authors attribute in part to better information and access to treatment.
- The findings deepen prior estimates, including IFS evidence of a 3.3% four-year income drop in Norway and U.S. studies linking symptoms to $1.8 billion in lost work time plus substantial extra medical visits and costs.
- Researchers and reviews highlight timely diagnosis, treatment, workplace support and better information as mitigations, and Spain’s food-safety agency has issued menopause-stage guidance on diet and exercise emphasizing protein, omega-3, fiber, calcium, vitamin D and regular aerobic and strength activity.