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Severe menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women are associated to female and male factors

  • General Gynecology
  • Published:
Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

The frequency and intensity of menopausal symptoms within a given population, as assessed by several tools, may vary and depend on several factors, such as age, menopausal status, chronic conditions and personal and partner socio-demographic profile.

Objective

To determine the frequency and intensity of menopausal symptoms and related risk factors among middle-aged women.

Methods

In this cross-sectional study a total of 404 women aged 40 to 59 years, visiting inpatients at the Enrique C. Sotomayor Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital, Guayaquil, Ecuador, were requested to fill out the menopause rating scale (MRS) and a questionnaire containing personal and partner data.

Results

Mean age of surveyed women (n = 404) was 48.2 ± 5.7 years, 85.1% had 12 or less years of schooling and 44.8% were postmenopausal. None was on hormonal therapy (HT) for the menopause or psychotropic drugs. Regarding their partner, erectile dysfunction was present in 23.8%, premature ejaculation in 21.2% and 43.5% abused alcohol. The four most frequently found symptoms of those composing the MRS were muscle and joint problems (80%), depressive mood (73.5%), physical and mental exhaustion (71.3%) and irritability (68%). Mean total MRS score was 18 ± 10.6 (median 17) and for subscales: 7.2 ± 4.5 (somatic); 6.9 ± 4.8 (psychological) and 3.9 ± 3.4 (urogenital). Women presented severe scores in 53, 36.1, 48.3 and 49.8% for total MRS and somatic, psychological and urogenital subscales, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, logistic regression analysis determined that female higher parity and partner premature ejaculation increased the risk for presenting severe total MRS scores (impaired female quality of life), whereas women who had a positive perception of their health status were at decreased risk.

Conclusion

In this middle-aged series psychological menopausal symptoms were the most frequent in which severity was associated to parity and partner sexual dysfunction.

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Acknowledgment

This research has been partially supported by the B/017543/08 AECID (“Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo”) grant from the Spanish “Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores y Cooperación” to the University of Zaragoza (Spain) and the Catholic University of Santiago de Guayaquil (Ecuador).

Conflict of interest statement

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Academic and Research Department, Hospital Gineco-Obstétrico Enrique C. Sotomayor, Pedro Pablo Gómez s/n y 6 de Marzo, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Peter Chedraui & Luis Hidalgo

  2. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Católica de Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Ecuador

    Peter Chedraui, Marcela Mendoza, Bella Morales, María A. Martinez, Ana M. Salinas & Luis Hidalgo

  3. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hospital Clínico, University of Zaragoza Faculty of Medicine, Zaragoza, Spain

    Faustino R. Pérez-López

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  1. Peter Chedraui
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Correspondence to Peter Chedraui.

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Chedraui, P., Pérez-López, F.R., Mendoza, M. et al. Severe menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women are associated to female and male factors. Arch Gynecol Obstet 281, 879–885 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-009-1204-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-009-1204-z

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