Men and women can get periods now?

Commas!
But also, as pps have said, just write clear, precise English. (You'd be astonished how rare that is in 6th form students, even the A grade ones)

It is ambiguous, but I read it as meaning that for women who have periods, those periods are the top cause of anaemia, while for everyone else it's stomach bleeds.

Actually it's good they say women and not people who have periods.

Still, this shows how jumpy the trans-activist-led verbal waffle is making us.

Whenever we see one of these "blah or blah or blah" constructions, we have to figure out what they really mean and whether they're just trying to avoid saying "woman". You often seem to have to know what they mean and work backwards to see how their phrasing covers it in Woke-speak.

In this case it is actually standard English - it just looks like Woke.

I think we've had a thread about an almost identical NHS page before.

Ah, thanks, Bergamotte.

Yes, they've phrased it like that with "For men" first in contrast to the previous paragraphs about pregnancy and periods. That's the largest non-period non-pregnancy group, followed by post-menopausal women.

There is nothing about periods that would make intestinal bleeding less likely - it is just that periods are a bigger cause of anaemia.

No, it's just that the most common form of iron deficiency anaemia for pre-menopausal women would be periods. That's presumably already covered above? This is a page about iron deficiency, right?

PlanterGents was this the same site that you were reading? It is a bit clearer when you have just read the paragraph above.

I agree with a PP that it would be clearer if they had said "For women whose periods have stopped, and for men, [...]"

Perhaps the person writing this entry has not been fully trained up on the "men can get periods" idea so it hadn't even occurred to them that anyone could possibly interpret it that way!

It does imply that women who are pre-menopausal have don't really have a problem with bleeding from the intestines.

There is nothing about periods that would make intestinal bleeding less likely - it is just that periods are a bigger cause of anaemia.

Although reading further, you would suppose they could be at more risk from taking ibuprofen for said periods.

I read it like the OP.

These days they really need to be clear. And think about using commas

"Do you mean for women who have unexpectedly stopped menstruating or who are menopausal?"
Women who are post-menopausal, or are on a form of contraception which stops their periods long term, or have had a hysterectomy etc. Women who are not regularly loosing iron in menstrual fluid, therefore will not have that as a cause of iron deficiency anaemia.

As well as listing various forms of bleeding in the stomach and intestines, the screenshot also says "Any other conditions or actions that cause blood loss could also lead to iron deficiency anaemia." So repeatedly using blood-letting or leeches as a home remedy, or (if one is a character in a YA novel) letting a vampire feed from you, or... um... chronic and unusually productive nosebleeds could also possibly cause IDA.

I don't think they're suggesting that having anaemia would cause your periods to stop.

It’s really poor.y written however you look at it.

For women who don't get periods, bleeding in the stomach and intestines is the most common cause of IDA

Do you mean for women who have unexpectedly stopped menstruating or who are menopausal?

I would suggest they mean women who don’t regularly get periods eg are on birth control that ceases periods or are menopausal etc. It’s not saying “women who aren’t (currently) menstruating” as in “right this minute” or who happen to be in week 3 of their cycle etc

I actually read that as two separate things. For men, and for women whose periods have stopped. If they were saying for men and women then it would be for men and women whose periods have stopped.

This is why all medical information must be absolutely and unequivocally clear and factual, no faffing around with language or trying to appease feelings, just simple straightforward facts in clear, concise, easy to understand universal language and terms.

Confusion and obfuscation is dangerous in a medical context.

For women, menstruation is the most common cause of IDA. For women who don't get periods, bleeding in the stomach and intestines is the most common cause of IDA

Do you mean for women who have unexpectedly stopped menstruating or who are menopausal?

For men, bleeding in the stomach and intestines is the most common cause of IDA.

Bleeding in the stomach and intestines can be caused by: [factors]"

Is what I think they intend to convey. It is other, unclear messaging around men having periods which makes us read this wrong.

Of course it would have been clearer if they had put women first ...but that would mean putting men second. At least they wrote "whose" and not "who's"!

Hopefully a demonstration of the mighty power of the tiny comma.

That or the world has gone properly mad.

Periods of what? Lucidity?

I agree that you have misread this. It would only have the meaning you state in your original post if there was not a second “for” before women. From context, leading cause of anemia, periods must be the highest cause of this for women who still menstruate. If you’ve stopped, this falls away and the leading cause would be the same as for men.

I think there is supposed to be a comma after the word men.

Bleeding in the stomach is the most common cause of IDA. This is caused by [factors]. For women who menstruate, the cessation of their periods is a significant factor in suggesting IDA.

[A clearer way of putting the initial quote].

If it helps OP I thought the same as you when I first read it. This is what happens really when you can't trust medical resources. You have to question everything.