Methods: This regression-based study analyzed 2001-to-2010 medical, pharmacy, sick leave, disability, workers’ compensation, and pro- ductivity data of large US employers. A cohort of employed women with diag- nosed menopause symptoms (DMS), aged more than 40 years, were identified using medical claims International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revi- sion, Clinical Modification codes 627.xx. Control employees were propensity matched on age, employer, plan enrollment length, and enrollment end date.Results: 

The study included 17,322 in each cohort. Employees with DMS had significantly higher medical ($4315 vs $2972, P < 0.001), pharmacy ($1366 vs $908, P < 0.001), sick leave costs ($647 vs $599, P < 0.001), and sick leave days (3.57 vs 3.30, P < 0.001). Employees with DMS had 12.2% (P = 0.007) lower hourly productivity and 10.9% (P = 0.014) lower annual productivity than controls. 

Conclusions

Although all women experience menopause, women with DMS have significantly higher utilization and productivity burdens.