The numbers that confirm: “it is not you”
When a symptom gets a number, it also gets legitimacy. Here is the data from research in Serbia and around the world, to help you know you are not alone and to give you something solid to bring to a conversation with your doctor or your employer.
What perimenopause is, and what menopause is
Perimenopause
The transition period leading to menopause. It typically lasts 4–8 years, and in some women it begins almost a decade before menopause, usually in their mid forties. It happens because ovarian function gradually declines, and it shows up as irregular cycles and first symptoms, while periods are still happening.
Menopause
The permanent end of menstruation. It is officially confirmed in retrospect, after 12 months without a period. In Europe it happens on average around the age of 51.
The transition itself typically lasts 4–8 years, but symptoms often last longer. According to the SWAN study, the largest longitudinal study of its kind (more than 3,000 women followed for almost two decades), hot flushes and night sweats last a median of 7.4 years, and in women whose symptoms start in early perimenopause the median is 11.8 years. According to a BMJ review from 2023, around 25% of women have symptoms for more than 10 years.
Where perimenopause sits on the timeline
The standard staging system (STRAW+10), as presented in the European Society of Endocrinology guideline. The “final menstrual period” is the boundary after which postmenopause begins.
† No period for a year or longer · * Stages when vasomotor symptoms (hot flushes) are most pronounced
You are not alone — and the numbers confirm it
All the numbers below come from the clinical guideline of the European Society of Endocrinology (European Journal of Endocrinology, 2025).
Dr Mina Hagen and Doc. Dr Ljiljana Marina
The first larger sample study in Serbia, more than 1,600 women, giving national data on menopause in the workplace.
Reality: hot flushes rank only 9th out of 11 most common symptoms. Almost every second woman will not even have them.
What really dominates is irritability (86%), fatigue (85%) and low mood, the psychological and cognitive symptoms that are talked about least. That is exactly why so many women do not recognise themselves: they wait for hot flushes that never come, while carrying brain fog, insomnia and anxiety, and putting it all down to tiredness, stress and the like.
The same story, everywhere
Menopause hits women in exactly the years when they have the most experience and the most responsibility. Here is what the large studies show.
More than 61 symptoms of perimenopause
Changing oestrogen levels affect every part of the body, which is why symptoms are not only hot flushes. You will not have all of them, the intensity, the number and the combinations vary from woman to woman. Click a group to open it for more detail.
“I know the list is long, but remember: not every woman will experience all of these symptoms. Think of it as a buffet: even for the harder symptoms there are treatments and strategies. Stay encouraged and informed, you are definitely not alone on this path.”
Definitions, the stages of reproductive ageing, the “You are not alone” numbers and the most common symptoms: the clinical guideline of the European Society of Endocrinology for the assessment and treatment of menopause and perimenopause (European Journal of Endocrinology, 2025). Data for Serbia: the study by Dr Mina Hagen and Doc. Dr Ljiljana Marina (more than 1,600 women). International data: Fawcett Society (UK, 2022), CIPD (UK, 2023), Catalyst (2024), Mayo Clinic (USA, 2023) and Stanford/SIEPR (2025). The symptom list is an educational overview and does not replace seeing a doctor. For your own symptoms, please talk to your doctor or gynaecologist.
Do you recognise yourself in this list?
The European Society of Endocrinology guideline singles these out as the most common. You will not have them all, the intensity and the number vary from woman to woman.
Recognise yourself? Then this is your place.
Come and talk about it out loud, in a safe space, without shame, with understanding and support.