Every woman who lives to midlife eventually goes through the hormonal transition that is menopause. Yet this significant biological event has long been shrouded in secrecy, spoken of in hushed terms or referenced with euphemisms like “the change.” Only in recent years has menopause been discussed more openly among women and the media, says Nanette Santoro, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and a longtime menopause researcher. Much of what is known about menopause comes from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation (SWAN), an epidemiological investigation that has followed some 3,000 women in the United States since 1994. It’s a good…