
ISO2026: Menopause, Sexual Health, and Bone Loss: What Clinicians Need to Address Together
This session equips clinicians to identify, evaluate, and manage female sexual dysfunction in postmenopausal women and women with osteoporosis, a population in which these problems are common yet rarely raised or addressed. It opens with an overview of female sexual function and the prevalence of desire, arousal, orgasm, and pain problems, the frequent overlap among them, and the medical conditions, medications, and life circumstances that contribute, framed within a biopsychosocial model. Because fewer than six percent of postmenopausal women raise sexual concerns on their own, the session models how to initiate the conversation, how to interpret the answer to a screening question, and how to respond when a patient does or does not report a concern. It then works through the four categories of dysfunction in turn. For hypoactive sexual desire disorder it reviews the inhibitory and excitatory balance of neurotransmitters and hormones and the full range of strategies, from eliminating sexual and nonsexual pain, managing insomnia and vasomotor symptoms, and modifying medications, through sex therapy and the pharmacologic options of flibanserin, bremelanotide, menopausal hormone therapy, and off label testosterone, with their efficacy and adverse effects. For dyspareunia it presents the DSM-V genito-pelvic pain and penetration disorder criteria, a structured differential that extends well beyond genitourinary syndrome of menopause, and the management ladder of lubricants, moisturizers, and estrogen based and non estrogen based prescription products, with attention to osmolality and product selection. For orgasmic dysfunction it traces the pathway to orgasm, the requirements for orgasm, the biologic and psychosocial etiologies, and the approved and off label options for increasing clitoral sensation and blood flow. The session closes on osteoporosis specifically, establishing that sexual problems in these women arise from comorbidities, medications, postmenopausal status, body image, and fear of fracture rather than from osteoporosis itself, and it offers ergonomic and positioning strategies to reduce pain and fear for both patient and partner.
Target Audience
This continuing education activity is intended for use by health professionals who participate in the care of patients at risk for or suffering from osteoporosis, in the areas of primary care, endocrinology, geriatrics, gynecology, internal, obstetrics, orthopedics, osteopathy, pediatrics, physiatry, radiology, rheumatology and physical therapy.
This includes physicians, nurse practitioners, registered nurses, pharmacists, physician assistants, technologists, researchers, public health professionals and health educators with an interest in osteoporosis and bone health.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Screen postmenopausal women and women with osteoporosis for sexual dysfunction, initiating the conversation and distinguishing problems of desire, arousal, orgasm, and pain.
2. Differentiate hypoactive sexual desire disorder, dyspareunia, arousal disorders, and orgasmic dysfunction, and identify the biologic and psychosocial contributors to each within a biopsychosocial framework.
3. Select evidence based treatments for female sexual dysfunction, including approved and off label pharmacologic options, genitourinary syndrome of menopause therapies, lubricants and moisturizers, and behavioral approaches.
4. Evaluate the contributors to sexual problems in women with osteoporosis, distinguishing comorbidities, medications, postmenopausal status, body image, and fear of fracture from any direct effect of osteoporosis.
5. Apply ergonomic and positioning strategies and address the fear of fracture for patient and partner to support sexual function in women with osteoporosis.
Name of Individual | Individual's Role(s) in Activity | Name of Ineligible Company(s) | Nature of Relationship(s) |
| Lauren F. Streicher, MD, FACOG, MSCP | Speaker | N/A | N/A |
| Amy Mitchell, MSN, FNP-C | Planner/Accredited Provider Program Director & Content Expert | Amgen & Radius Health | Speaker’s Bureau, Scientific Advisory Board, Consulting |
Ami Patel | BHOF Staff, Vice President of Science & Education | N/A | N/A |
Andrea Medeiros | BHOF Staff, Vice President of Public Health & Policy | N/A | N/A |
All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.
Accreditation Statement
The Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
CME Program Eligibility
Method of Participation in the Learning Process: Clinician learners will view and analyze the subject matter, conduct additional informal research through related internet searches on the subject matter, and complete a post-test assessment of knowledge and skills gained as a result of the activity.
After participating in this activity, the reader has the option of taking an evaluation for this activity. It is estimated it will take 0.75 hour(s) to complete the reading and take the evaluation. Continuing education credit will be available for two years from the date of publication.
Disclosure of Commercial Support
It is the policy of the Bone Health & Osteoporosis Foundation (BHOF) to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its sponsored publications and programs. BHOF requires the disclosure of the existence of any significant financial interest or any other relationship the sponsor, Editorial Board or Guest Contributors have with the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) discussed in an educational presentation. All authors and contributors to this continuing education activity have disclosed any real or apparent interest that may have direct bearing on the subject matter of this program.
Please be advised that BHOF’s accreditation status with ACCME and ANCC does not imply endorsement by BHOF, ACCME or ANCC of any commercial products displayed in conjunction with this activity or endorsement of any point of view.
Refund Policy
BHOF offers no returns or refunds on online internet CME activities purchased through our store. All sales are final. Meeting and workshop registrations will be refunded in accordance with the cancellation policy of the meeting and/or workshop, as outlined at registration.
Available Credit
- 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™The National Osteoporosis Foundation is an approved Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) accredited CME provider through March 2023. ACCME accreditation accelerates learning, change and improvement in the field of osteoporosis. The National Osteoporosis Foundation is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The National Osteoporosis Foundation designates educational activities for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- 0.75 ANCCThe mission of the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), a subsidiary of the American Nurses Association (ANA), is to promote excellence in nursing and health care globally through credentialing programs. The National Osteoporosis Foundation is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The National Osteoporosis Foundation designates educational activities for continuing nursing education credit(s).
- 0.75 Participation
- 0.75 Participation/AttendanceA certificate of attendance will be provided to all other attending healthcare professionals. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may request AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ certificate of participation. Please refer to your provider to determine whether this program will qualify for other categories of continuing education credits. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) also accepts educational activities certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Education (ACCME).

Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Forward