NCHS data brief
Characteristics of Women Ages 40-60 with Menopausal Symptoms: United States, 2025
By Vahratian A and Clayton JA.
Abstract
Introduction
The menopausal transition is a critical window for the health of women and may serve as an inflection point for the onset of chronic disease. During this transition, a woman's ovaries become less efficient at producing estrogen and progesterone, and women may experience symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia or sleep disturbances, and abnormal uterine bleeding. This report describes demographic and geographic characteristics of women ages 40-60 who had menopausal symptoms in the past 12 months using data from the 2025 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Estimates of current prescription medication use for menopausal symptoms by age are also provided.
Methods
NHIS is a nationally representative household survey of the civilian, non-institutionalized U.S. population. Point estimates and the corresponding confidence intervals for this analysis were calculated using SAS-callable SUDAAN software to account for the complex sample design of NHIS. Key findings: In 2025, nearly one in two women (49.4%) ages 40-60 who were not currently pregnant, postpartum, or in surgical menopause reported menopausal symptoms in the past 12 months. The presence of symptoms varied by age, race and ethnicity, educational attainment, and urbanization level. Women ages 48-51 (62.0%) and 52-55 (67.4%) were the most likely to report menopausal symptoms compared with younger and older women. Among women who reported menopausal symptoms in the past 12 months, 15.6% indicated that they were currently taking a prescription medication for those symptoms. Of these women, prescription use was highest among women ages 52-55 and 56-60.