Quality of life assessment in a chemoprevention trial: fenretinide and oral or transdermal HRT

Use of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire in research and clinical practice: a comprehensive scoping review

OBJECTIVE

The Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire was developed as a validated research tool to measure condition-specific QOL in early postmenopausal women. We conducted a comprehensive scoping review to explore the extent of MENQOL's use in research and clinical practice to assess its value in providing effective, adequate, and comparable participant assessment information.

METHODS

Thirteen biomedical and clinical databases were systematically searched with "menqol" as a search term to find articles using MENQOL or its validated derivative MENQOL-Intervention as investigative or clinical tools from 1996 to November 2014 inclusive. Review articles, conference abstracts, proceedings, dissertations, and incomplete trials were excluded. Additional articles were collected from references within key articles. Three independent reviewers extracted data reflecting study design, intervention, sample characteristics, MENQOL questionnaire version, modifications and language, recall period, and analysis detail. Data analyses included categorization and descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The review included 220 eligible papers of various study designs, covering 39 countries worldwide and using MENQOL translated into more than 25 languages. A variety of modifications to the original questionnaire were identified, including omission or addition of items and alterations to the validated methodological analysis. No papers were found that described MENQOL's use in clinical practice.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study found an extensive and steadily increasing use of MENQOL in clinical and epidemiological research over 18 years postpublication. Our results stress the importance of proper reporting and validation of translations and variations to ensure outcome comparison and transparency of MENQOL's use. The value of MENQOL in clinical practice remains unknown.

Efficacy of menopausal hormone therapy on sleep quality: systematic review and meta-analysis

Sleep complaints are reported by 40-60 % of menopausal women. Poor sleep is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. The effect of menopausal hormone therapy on sleep quality is unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to summarize the efficacy of menopausal hormone therapy on self-reported sleep quality. Electronic databases (PubMed, Scopus, Ovid MEDLINE, EMBASE, EBM Reviews CENTRAL, and PsycInfo) were searched from 2002 to October 2015. Randomized trials assessing the effect of menopausal hormone therapy with a minimum follow up of 8 weeks were included. Titles, abstracts, and full texts were screened independently and in duplicate. Primary outcome included sleep items within a questionnaire, scale or diary. Standardized mean differences across trials were pooled using random-effects models. The search identified 424 articles, from which 42 trials were included. Seven trials at a moderate to high risk of bias enrolling 15,468 women were pooled in meta-analysis. Menopausal hormone therapy improved sleep quality in women who had vasomotor symptoms at baseline [standardized mean difference -0.54 (-0.91 to -0.18), moderate quality evidence]. No difference was noted when women without such symptoms were analyzed separately or combined. Across 31 sleep quality questionnaires, daytime dysfunction was the most evaluated sleep domain. Menopausal hormone therapy improves sleep in women with concomitant vasomotor symptoms. Heterogeneity of trials regarding study population, formulations, and sleep scales; limit overall certainty in the evidence. Future menopausal hormone therapy trials should include assessment of self-reported sleep quality using standardized scales and adhere to reporting guidelines.

Association between physical activity and menopausal symptoms in perimenopausal women

BACKGROUND

Physical activity may be an effective way of preventing or attenuating menopause-related symptoms, and it has been shown to improve quality of life in menopausal women. However, there have been some inconsistencies regarding between exercise and menopausal symptoms, and study investigating this association has been scarce in Korea. In this study, the association between physical activity and menopausal symptoms in perimenopausal women in Korea was assessed.

METHODS

This cross-sectional observational study was conducted between November 2012 and March 2013. In total, 2,204 healthy women aged 44-56 years were recruited from a healthcare center at the Kangbuk Samsung hospitals for investigating women's attitudes towards menopause. To investigate the influence of physical activity on perimenopause-associated symptoms, 631 perimenopausal women were selected for this study. Their physical activity levels were assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) short form. The Menopause-specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire was used to assess menopause-related symptoms.

RESULTS

The study participants were, on average, 48.5 ± 2.7 years old and had a mean body mass index of 22.8 ± 3.1 kg/m2. The total MENQOL score and the psychosocial and physical subscores exhibited U-shaped trends in relation to the level of physical activity. Multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for confounding variables showed that perimenopausal women who performed moderate physical activity reported significantly lower psychosocial (β = -0.413, P = 0.012) and physical symptoms (β = -0.445, P = 0.002) than women who performed low physical activity. By contrast, a high level of physical activity did not influence the MENQOL total score and subscores relative to the low activity group. In addition, no associations were observed between physical activity and the vasomotor and sexual symptoms in any group.

CONCLUSIONS

Moderate level of physical activity was associated with reduced psychosocial and physical menopause symptoms in perimenopausal Korean women. Although these findings must be confirmed by prospective longitudinal studies, they suggest that physical activity may improve the symptoms of menopause, thereby increasing quality of life.

Bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens and quality of life in postmenopausal women

OBJECTIVE

To assess the effects of bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens (BZA/CE) on sleep parameters and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL).

METHODS

This was a 12-week, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Postmenopausal women with an intact uterus and experiencing >or=7 moderate-to-severe hot flushes daily were randomized to BZA 20 mg/CE 0.45 mg, BZA 20 mg/CE 0.625 mg, or placebo. In these secondary efficacy analyses, the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) sleep scale and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaires and the Menopause Symptoms Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire (MS-TSQ) evaluated measures of sleep, menopausal symptoms, and satisfaction with treatment, respectively.

RESULTS

A total of 318 subjects (mean age, 53.4 years) received >or=1 dose of study drug. At Week 12, BZA 20 mg/CE 0.45 and 0.625 mg showed significant improvements over placebo in the MOS sleep scale for time to fall asleep, sleep adequacy, sleep disturbance, and sleep problems indexes I and II (P<0.001). A reduction in hot flush frequency was significantly associated with improvement in sleep parameters (P<0.05) based on linear regression and responder analyses. Both BZA/CE doses showed significantly greater improvements over placebo in vasomotor function and total MENQOL score (P<0.001). Results of the MS-TSQ showed that subjects treated with BZA/CE versus placebo reported significantly greater overall satisfaction with treatment (P<0.05), as well as greater satisfaction with sleep quality, ability to control hot flushes during the day and night, effect on mood/emotions, and tolerability.

CONCLUSION

Symptomatic postmenopausal women treated with BZA/CE experienced significant improvements in sleep parameters and overall HR-QOL.