Quality of Life Little Affected by Menopausal Transition

Study finds only physical functioning reduced during transition

11 sept 2009 -- The menopausal transition has relatively little effect on quality of life after adjusting for menopausal symptoms, medical conditions and stress, according to a study in the September/October issue of Menopause.

Nancy E. Avis, Ph.D., from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and colleagues examined health-related quality of life (HRQL, as assessed by the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form Health Survey) at the menopausal transition in 3,302 premenopausal or perimenopausal women who were 42 to 52 years of age at baseline.

Over seven years, and after adjusting for variables including baseline age, the researchers found that reduced role limitations (in the lowest 25 percent) due to physical health were more likely at late perimenopause (odds ratio, 1.46) and postmenopause (odds ratio, 1.49) compared with premenopause. Menopausal status was not associated with the other four subscales on the survey (bodily pain, vitality, limitations due to emotional problems, or social functioning) after adjusting for vasomotor symptoms, urine leakage, poor sleep, arthritis, depression, and stress.

"The menopausal transition showed little impact on HRQL when adjusted for symptoms, medical conditions, and stress," Avis and colleagues conclude. "These findings highlight the importance of controlling for important covariates in assessing the impact of the menopausal transition on HRQL."

Abstract
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