Treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms and sensory issues in a 53-year-old autistic woman – a case report

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. two authors of this publication are identified as autistic in the project.

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Rynkiewicz, A., Ferensztajn‐Rochowiak, E., Moseley, R. L., Gamble-Turner, J., Hadjikhani, N., Lacroix, A., Curran, A. B., Sohl, K., & Darmochwał-Kolarz, D. (2025). Treatment of menopausal vasomotor symptoms and sensory issues in a 53-year-old autistic woman – a case report. Psychiatria i Psychologia Kliniczna, 24(4), 356-362. https://doi.org/10.15557/pipk.2024.0045

Publication date: 30 Apr 2025 Added to AutiHub: 6 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
9
Publication authors identified as autistic
2 / 9 (22.2%)
  1. Agnieszka Rynkiewicz
  2. Ewa Ferensztajn‐Rochowiak
  3. Rachel L. Moseley *
  4. Julie Gamble-Turner
  5. Nouchine Hadjikhani
  1. Adeline Lacroix *
  2. Alicia Brewer Curran
  3. Kristin Sohl
  4. Dorota Darmochwał-Kolarz

Abstract

Considered a taboo topic in many societies, menopause in autistic women is still under-recognised, and little research addresses its impact. Existing studies suggest that this often-difficult transition period is associated with numerous unmet health needs and a frustrating lack of knowledge and support from healthcare professionals. Menopausal vasomotor symptoms, the hallmark of menopause, can intensify and worsen sensory sensitivities in many autistic women. We present the case of a 53-year-old Caucasian autistic woman without intellectual disability or other current psychiatric comorbidities. The patient underwent gynaecologic and hormonal lab testing, and was introduced to hormone replacement therapy to ameliorate symptoms of oestradiol and progesterone deficiency. Menopausal vasomotor symptoms experienced by the patient were monitored over a period of seven months following the implementation of hormone replacement therapy and non-pharmacologic approaches. Hormone replacement therapy decreased menopausal vasomotor symptoms, but not all her initial complains. Strong sensory issues were linked to more severe menopausal vasomotor symptoms. This case highlights the need for further research and the development of the global Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) Autism® model to advance medical care offered to autistic women during menopause.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 13:58.

Cited references
54
With a DOI
46
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
7
12 / 54 (22.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
7 / 54 (13.0%)
References with detected author names
47 / 54 (87.0%)
Without detected author names
7
Without a structured title
7
Without a stable identifier
7
References with raw author names still to review
7
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
278
From DOI or external metadata
278
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
18
116 / 278 (41.7%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 162 / 278 (58.3%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
20 / 278 (7.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 20 / 116 (17.2%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 15 / 246 (6.1%).
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