Severity and factors of menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women in Gansu Province of China: a cross-sectional study

Menopausal symptoms in midlife Singaporean women: Prevalence rates and associated factors from the Integrated Women's Health Programme (IWHP)

OBJECTIVE

Menopausal symptoms can substantially impact quality of life. We studied somatic, psychological, and urogenital symptoms and their associated factors.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of healthy midlife Singaporean women from three major Asian ethnic groups.

METHODS

In 2014-16, women aged 45 to 69 attending well-woman clinics at the National University Hospital Singapore completed the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Sociodemographic, reproductive, medical, anthropometric, body composition, and physical performance characteristics were assessed using validated questionnaires and strict protocols. We analysed sub-scales and total scores by median split, and adjusted odds ratios using multivariable logistic regression.

RESULTS

Of the 1054 eligible women, 62.6 % reported at least one moderate to extremely severe symptom. The top five menopausal symptoms were joint and muscle discomfort, sleep problems, vaginal dryness, physical and mental exhaustion, and hot flushes. Higher total scores on the MRS were associated with moderate disability (adjusted odds ratio: 9.80, 95 % confidence interval: 2.88-33.34), poorer self-rated health status (2.18, 1.60-2.97), menstrual irregularity at 25 years (1.63, 1.07-2.49), and slower chair stands (1.49, 1.09-2.03). Age ≥65 (0.54, 0.30-0.94) and a lower level of education (0.45, 0.26-0.76) had significant inverse associations with total MRS score.

CONCLUSIONS

Menopausal symptoms were associated with disability, poorer health status, and weaker lower-body muscle strength. These data add to the limited Asian evidence and raise the profile of this important area of health.

Unveiling the Role of the Work Environment in the Quality of Life of Menopausal Physicians and Nurses

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of scientific evidence regarding the specific challenges faced by menopausal medical professionals in different work settings. This study aims to investigate the relationship between work environment and the menopausal quality of life (QoL) in physicians and nurses.

METHODS

This survey was conducted using the Menopausal Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) with a sample of 35 menopausal physicians and 95 nurses employed in health facilities in Astana and Kyzylorda cities, Kazakhstan.

RESULTS

Physicians reported a higher frequency of menopausal symptoms compared to nurses. The difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05) for symptoms such as decreased productivity (60.00% vs. 38.20%), flatulence or gas pains (71.43% vs. 48.39%), weight gain (79.41% vs. 61.80%), changes in skin appearance (79.59% vs. 50.00%), and changes in sexual desire (58.82% vs. 33.70%). Physicians with managerial duties had a significantly higher occurrence of vasomotor symptoms compared to non-managerial physicians (mean 3.35 ± 2.14 vs. 1.69 ± 0.89) and also had a higher mean psychological score (mean 3.26 ± 1.28 vs. 2.29 ± 1.19).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings reflect differences between the menopause effects related to work environment for doctors and nurses, and shed light on the specific challenges faced by them during menopause. In addition, it is important to consider socio-demographic and workplace-related factors in investigating their impact on the QoL.

Prevalence of menopausal symptoms and attitudes towards menopausal hormone therapy in women aged 40-60 years: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

Menopause is a specific physical and psychological transition period for women, during which they experience a series of menopausal symptoms. Menopausal hormone therapy is an important treatment for improving menopausal symptoms. Helping women correctly understand menopausal hormone therapy is a prerequisite for increasing the acceptance and utilization of menopausal hormone therapy by women. Physical examinations are an important method for women to master their own health status and detect potential health problems, and in recent years, an increasing number of women have actively participated in physical examinations. Therefore, this study aims to comprehend the prevalence of menopausal symptoms and attitudes towards menopausal hormone therapy among women aged 40-60 who underwent physical examinations, which would provide a useful reference to reduce the prevalence of menopausal symptoms and improve acceptance of menopausal hormone therapy.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted at the Health Management Centre of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University in Luzhou City, Sichuan Province. The data were collected from 295 women aged between 40 and 60 using convenience sampling. Information on all participants was collected through face-to-face interviews. Participants completed a demographic questionnaire and an attitude towards menopausal hormone therapy questionnaire, and the modified Kupperman index was used to assess the prevalence and severity of participants' menopausal symptoms. The collected data were processed using SPSS and Excel software and analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression.

RESULTS

The top 5 menopausal symptoms were insomnia, fatigue, bone and joint pain, sexual dysfunction and emotional instability. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that residence, sexual intercourse frequency, mentality, and physical exercise were the influencing factors of menopausal symptoms. The study showed that 77% of women said they were still reluctant to receive menopausal hormone therapy after experiencing menopause-related symptoms. The main source of menopausal hormone therapy-related knowledge among women was from surrounding menopausal women (62%), and 54% wanted to gain menopausal hormone therapy-related knowledge through a web-based approach.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of menopausal symptoms is higher in women aged 40-60 years, which is related to women's mentality, exercise, and sexual intercourse frequency. In addition, the results of this study indicate that women's knowledge of menopausal hormone therapy is insufficient, which suggests that we need to strengthen health education to improve the acceptance rate of menopausal hormone therapy.

The relationship between physical activity and the severity of menopausal symptoms: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between physical activity and the severity of menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women in northwest China.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional online survey study. Using a snowball sampling method, 468 women aged 45 to 60 were recruited from northwest China and their demographic information was collected. The modified Kupperman Menopausal Index scale and International Physical Activity Questionnaire short form were used in this study. Random forest was used to rank the importance of variables and select the optimal combination. The direction and relative risk (odds ratio value) of selected variables were further explained with an ordinal logistic regression model.

RESULTS

The prevalence of menopausal syndromes was 74.8% and more than one-half of the participants had moderate or severe symptoms (54.3%). The Mantel-Haenszel linear-by-linear chi-square test showed a strong and negative correlation between physical activity level and the severity of menopausal symptoms (P < 0.001). Random forest demonstrated that the physical activity level was the most significant variable associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms. Multiple random forest regressions showed that the out-of-bag error rate reaches the minimum when the top 4 variables (physical activity level, menopausal status, perceived health status, and parity) in the importance ranking form an optimal variable combination. Ordinal logistic regression analysis showed that a higher physical activity level and a satisfactory perceived health status might be protective factors for menopausal symptoms (odds ratio (OR) < 1, P < 0.001); whereas perimenopausal or postmenopausal status and 2 parities might be risk factors for menopausal symptoms (OR > 1, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

There is a strong negative correlation between physical activity and the severity of menopausal symptoms. The results have a clinical implication that the menopausal symptoms may be improved by the moderate-to-high level physical activity in the lives of middle-aged women.

Longitudinal associations between sleep quality and menopausal symptoms among community-dwelling climacteric women: A multi-centered study

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Menopausal symptoms exist in most climacteric women, which can harm the quality and satisfaction of life for them. Moreover, a series of ineluctable negative life changes experienced in middle-age usually make the situation more complicated and stressful. We aimed to determine the trajectories and influential factors of sleep quality and menopausal symptoms and their longitudinal interrelationships among climacteric women.

METHODS

A total of 1875 community-dwelling climacteric women were included in this study. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) were adopted to assess sleep quality and menopausal symptoms, respectively. Data were collected 4 times from March 2019 to December 2019, at a 3-month interval.

RESULTS

The Cross-lagged analysis showed that worse sleep quality and more severe menopausal symptoms over time after controlling for specified covariates, and more severe menopausal symptoms were predicted by declined sleep quality. The Generalized estimation equation model showed that education level, marital status, chronic diseases, life events, income, and age were the influential factors of sleep quality, while menopausal symptoms were impacted by marital status and income.

CONCLUSIONS

Increasing negative sleep quality and more severe menopausal symptoms over time contribute to the health burden of climacteric women. Menopausal symptoms could be alleviated by sleep quality improvement, which is influenced by education level, marital status, chronic diseases, life events, age, and economic factors.