Health. Nearly one in two women experiences a disruption to their sexuality during menopause.

Data from the SexReport 2025 survey (Adam and Eve) shows how menopause profoundly impacts women's lives, physically, intimately, and psychologically. Nearly one in two women report that their relationship with their body changes during menopause. Sexuality, far from disappearing, often evolves into a different form.

The most frequent symptoms are well known: 63% of women report hot flashes, 49% say they have gained weight, and 47% suffer from sleep disturbances. Regarding sexuality, 43% mention a decrease in libido and 41% report vaginal dryness. Conversely, 5% say they experience an increase in their libido.

Relationship with the body: from fragility to self-redefinition

The relationship with one's body during menopause remains a central concern and highlights very different experiences. 44% of women say they feel less comfortable in their bodies due to physical changes and associated symptoms. 43% feel their body image hasn't changed. Finally, 12% feel better after menopause, seeing this hormonal transition as a period of liberation, acceptance, and self-redefinition.

Sexuality: Menopause does not end desire

For most women, intimacy is essential to personal well-being, even during this hormonal transition. According to the Sex Report 2024 , 64% of those who had sex during menopause said they felt "very good" or "quite good".

However, 31% report less satisfactory experiences, often related to vaginal dryness or decreased libido. As a reminder, vulvovaginal atrophy refers to thinning, dryness, and inflammation of the vaginal walls, primarily linked to a decrease in estrogen levels in the body. It frequently occurs after menopause, causing dyspareunia (painful intercourse) and post-coital bleeding.

Finally, in this survey, 14% of women indicated that they had not had sexual intercourse during this period. These figures highlight the need for better information and appropriate support to maintain a fulfilling sex life.

The 2025 report from the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (IGAS) confirms the underutilization of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) in France. Based on reimbursements recorded in 2024, only 2.5% of the 17.3 million women over 45 years of age used MHT at least once during the year.

Based on the previous ten years of reimbursement, the average treatment duration is estimated at 5.1 years. Even more concerning is the decline in prescriptions in France of more than 10% per year since 2021, while in most European countries, sales are increasing significantly – notably in the United Kingdom, where they are rising by more than 25% per year.

Menopause: finally listening to women!

The parliamentary mission on menopause 2025, led by Stéphanie Rist, our new Minister of Health, proposes implementing a consultation at the key age of 45. Because, in terms of sexual, physical, and psychological consequences, it is time to listen to premenopausal and menopausal women and stop demonizing hormones based on outdated studies that have now been refuted.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has been rehabilitated, but misconceptions have become deeply entrenched. "Since the excessive media coverage of the unfavorable results of the WHI study, the debate on HRT in France remains focused on the risk of breast cancer, to the detriment of an in-depth analysis of recent data or the benefits of the treatment on quality of life, prevention of osteoporosis, and even on cardiovascular risk and mortality," commented Professor Florence Trémollières in an interview with GynécoOnline last May.

Source: Adam and Eve's SexReport 2025, a representative online study conducted in partnership with Trends Research; Menopause in France: 25 proposals to finally find the path to action, Stéphanie Rist, Member of Parliament for the 1st constituency of Loiret