Divergence in Menopause Symptom Narratives Between Online and Clinical Settings

The transition to menopause presents with a series of symptoms that affect women’s physical, cognitive, and emotional well-being.¹ Although clinical data has documented menopausal symptoms,² research suggests these data sources may inadequately capture the full scope of patient-reported experiences. Social listening from online forums can provide authentic narratives of health experiences, especially for women,³ often shared in unaltered and lived contexts⁴ and can play a role in identifying silent needs, underreported concerns, and unnoticed symptoms,⁵ particularly in stigmatized or poorly understood conditions.⁶ With this in mind, this cross-sectional study asked how do menopause related symptoms discussed in user-generated online posts compare with symptoms documented in electronic health record (EHR) clinical notes?