J Menopausal Med.  2015 Aug;21(2):65-71. 10.6118/jmm.2015.21.2.65.

The Recent Review of the Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause

• Kim HK
• Kang SY
• Chung YJ
• Kim JH
• Kim MR

• KMID: 2200976
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.6118/jmm.2015.21.2.65

Abstract

The genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) is a new term that describes various menopausal symptoms and signs including not only genital symptoms (dryness, burning, and irritation), and sexual symptoms (lack of lubrication, discomfort or pain, and impaired function, but also urinary symptoms (urgency, dysuria, and recurrent urinary tract infections). The terms vulvovaginal atrophy and atrophic vaginitis, which were generally used until recently, had a limitation because they did not cover the full spectrum of symptoms and did not imply that the symptoms are related to a decreased estrogen level in menopause. Since the GSM may have a profound negative impact on the quality of life of postmenopausal women, women should be made aware of these problems and treated with an appropriate effective therapy. Thus, in this review we introduce new terminology and discuss the importance of comprehension of GSM and the necessity of active treatment of this syndrome in postmenopausal women.

Keyword

Genitourinary syndrome of menopause; Menopause; Vulvovaginal atrophy

MeSH Terms

Atrophic Vaginitis
Atrophy
Burns
Comprehension
Dysuria
Estrogens
Female
Humans
Lubrication
Menopause*
Quality of Life
Urinary Tract
Estrogens

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