What you probably already know: Researchers at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health say the “three M’s” of women’s health — menstruation, maternity and menopause — are vital public health priorities that are significantly under researched and widely misunderstood. Over the course of an 80-year lifespan, for example, an American woman will menstruate more than 400 times, give birth once or twice and likely experience menopausal symptoms for five to 10 years, yet most studies around aging fail to consider menopause. The research, published Dec. 8, has “uncovered new insights about the start of puberty, shed light on mothers’ mental health and laid a foundation for much-needed conversations about menopause.”
Why it matters: Studies show that the average age of first menstruation, or menarche, in U.S. girls has dropped from 12-1/2 in prior decades to 11.9 years today. Early puberty and the earlier onset of menstruation have been linked to higher risks of breast cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The motherhood phase may also carry lasting health consequences and prediabetes in adolescence is linked to poor pregnancy outcomes, including gestational diabetes and hypertension. Associate Professor of Epidemiology Teresa Janevic notes that this lack of focus sets women up for a higher lifelong burden of disease. “Diabetes and cardiovascular health aren’t just important to midlife and older people,” she says. “That physiological wear and tear on the body might have lasting effects for mother and even the infant.”
What it means: The study cites the experience of track star and Olympic medalist Allyson Felix, whose film about her experiences — She Runs the World — premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival last June. The documentary details how her sponsor, Nike, proposed a 70% pay cut in her contract renewal after she became pregnant. On top of that, Felix had a difficult pregnancy and experienced extreme preeclampsia, resulting in a C-section, and her daughter was in the NICU for more than a month. Felix spoke out publicly about her treatment, left Nike and launched her own shoe brand. While Nike has now implemented a standard system for all women athletes, other companies continue to deal with the issue on a case-by-case basis.
What happens next: Columbia researchers are calling for a generational shift in how clinicians, researchers and policymakers approach women’s health and hope to translate the findings into workplace policies and practical guidance to help women navigate perimenopause without stigma or suffering professional disadvantages. “Menopause and perimenopause can be really disruptive,” says Marni Sommer, a professor of Sociomedical Sciences who had always focused her research on menstruation but decided to include menopause after noticing a significant uptick in women seeking perimenopause advice. “Survey respondents wished there wasn’t so much silence around it and that it wasn’t so stigmatized. They wished people were given grace to manage their symptoms.”
