Vertraagde diagnose perimenopauze veroorzaakt groot menselijk leed en onnodige zorgkosten in Nederland en België
Gent, 01/10/2025 – Uit recent onderzoek van Leen-Marie Reynvoet, student aan Hogeschool Gent, blijkt dat vrouwen in Nederland en België te maken krijgen met aanzienlijke vertragingen in het diagnoseproces van de perimenopauze. Dit leidt tot ernstig menselijk leed en een onnodig zware belasting voor de gezondheidszorgsystemen. De studie, uitgevoerd onder meer dan 2000 vrouwen, legt pijnlijke tekortkomingen in kennis en zorg bloot.
Langdurig lijden en impact op levenskwaliteit
De bevindingen zijn verontrustend: bij een meerderheid van de vrouwen duurde het traject van de eerste symptomen tot een formele diagnose tussen de 2 en 10 jaar (64,5% van de Belgische respondenten; 66,0% van de Nederlandse). Bij een aanzienlijke groep duurde dit zelfs meer dan 10 jaar (8,5% in België; 9,2% in Nederland). Deze vertraging brengt ingrijpende consequenties met zich mee:

Hiervan was 14,5% meerdere maanden arbeidsongeschikt en 20,4% zelfs langer dan een jaar. Dit leidt tot inkomensverlies voor vrouwen en productiviteitsverlies voor werkgevers, met macro-economische gevolgen.
Onnodige zorguitgaven door ineffectieve zorgtrajecten
De lange en vaak foutieve weg naar een diagnose veroorzaakt aanzienlijke zorgkosten:

Arts-specialisten schreven vaak dure onderzoeken voor:
Ernstig kennistekort in de zorg en ontoereikende opleiding
Een van de belangrijkste oorzaken van deze vertraging is het structurele gebrek aan kennis over de perimenopauze – zowel bij vrouwen als bij zorgverleners:
De huidige medische opleidingen bieden slechts minimale aandacht aan het onderwerp:
Oproep tot actie
De resultaten onderstrepen de dringende noodzaak voor:
Een tijdige, juiste aanpak vermindert niet alleen menselijk lijden, maar verhoogt ook de efficiëntie en kosteneffectiviteit van de gezondheidszorg.
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