Strange things can start happening to women as they enter middle age.
Lying in bed night after night, Andrea LaCroix noticed her heart was pounding mysteriously fast. Claire Gill had a baby in her early 40s, so when she started skipping periods a year later, she thought she might be pregnant again. Laura Okafor wasn’t sure whether her new sleep troubles and spike in anxiety were typical for a mom with young kids.
Eventually, all three women arrived at the same explanation for their symptoms: perimenopause, a period characterized by fluctuating hormones that can last for years before the official onset of menopause, 12 months without a period.
Menopause has been flooded with attention in recent years, the subject of books, businesses, and advocacy by celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Naomi Watts, Halle Berry, and, in a new ad for WeightWatchers, Queen Latifah. Now health entrepreneurs are coming for perimenopause, menopause’s “smaller sister,” as Okafor puts it. Hoping to expand on the $18 billion menopause market, businesses are marketing perimenopause communities, supplements, meal plans, wearables, prescription medications, and more to women starting in their late 30s.
This article is exclusive to STAT+ subscribers
Unlock this article — plus in-depth analysis, newsletters, premium events, and news alerts.
Already have an account? Log in
To read the rest of this story subscribe to STAT+.
