Why doctors Are Wary of At-Home Menopause Tests

At-home menopause tests (also called “hormone panels” or “female health and hormone panels”) are a growing business. These tests aim to help women know when they’re entering menopause so they can take steps to alleviate symptoms.

But in a new scientific editorial, doctors call out hormone panels as needless and potentially harmful. “Even though we are excited by increasing discussion around menopause care, we are seeing a surge of confusing and sometimes misleading data,” says Marie Christakis, MD, MPH, the paper’s led author and an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Toronto.^[1]

“This leaves many women unsure of what to believe, and can result in either undertreatment or use of unproven approaches.”

Here’s what Dr. Christakis and other healthcare professionals who treat women in menopause want you to know about these direct-to-consumer tests.

What Is Hormone Panel Testing?

Hormone panel testing looks for specific hormone levels in the blood related to female reproductive health, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol, and progesterone, says Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago who did not contribute to the editorial.

The theory is that if a woman has lower levels of these hormones, she is experiencing perimenopause (the years leading up to menopause when periods become irregular) or in menopause (the first 12 consecutive months that a woman doesn’t have a period).

Some tests require you to go into a lab for a blood draw. Others come with a kit that has you prick your finger and mail back blood and urine samples. Results usually arrive some days later. The price can range from about $150 to $400.^[2][3]

At-Home Menopause Tests Have Pitfalls, Say Doctors

“Menopause is a clinical diagnosis,