Risk factors and risk assessment in menopause

With age morbidity is increasing, The accumulation of risk factors and of risk constellations of different organ systems as well as the interaction between different organ systems lead to this increasing risk. The individual quality of life and the overall way of life is therewith altered. Postmenopausal women have focused demands concerning their well being, health and quality of life. All this should preference the use of preventive measures and health supporting strategies. The basis for directed changes in life style are the knowledge about disease specific risk factors and individual risk asses;ment. Individual risk assessment could be performed by risk scores. At present, either risk scores assessing specific organ systems or scores about cognitive functions or menopausal symptoms are published. Difficulties in the development of an overall risk score include the determination of the relevant organ systems, the choice of the most important risk factors and their value for the chosen organ system. In the future due to the increasing age of the population the development of risk scores is of significance for individual risk reduction and prevention. This paper summarizes the knowledge about organ-specific risk factors and published risk scores.