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Menopause-related symptoms and quality of life in peri- and postmenopausal women in Thailand: a multicenter study

Suthee Panichkul
Suthee Panichkul
, 
Thanyarat Wongwananuruk
Thanyarat Wongwananuruk
, 
Pongrak Boonyanurak
Pongrak Boonyanurak
, 
Budsaba Wiriyasirivaj
Budsaba Wiriyasirivaj
, 
Preecha Wanichsetakul
Preecha Wanichsetakul
, 
Saipin Pongsatha
Saipin Pongsatha
, 
Krantarat Peeyananjarassri
Krantarat Peeyananjarassri
, 
Patcharada Amatyakul
Patcharada Amatyakul
, 
Verawat Wipatavit
Verawat Wipatavit
, 
Srinaree Kaewrudee
Srinaree Kaewrudee
, 
Chulaporn Limwattananon
Chulaporn Limwattananon
, 
Areewan Cheawchanwattana
Areewan Cheawchanwattana
, 
Sugree Soontarapa
Sugree Soontarapa
, 
Kittisak Wilawana
Kittisak Wilawana
 and 
Manee Rattanachaiyanont
Manee Rattanachaiyanont
   | Aug 31, 2017
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Article Category: Original article
Published Online: Aug 31, 2017
Page range: 207 - 216
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5372/1905-7415.1103.551
Keywords
© 2017 Suthee Panichkul, Thanyarat Wongwananuruk, Pongrak Boonyanurak, Budsaba Wiriyasirivaj, Preecha Wanichsetakul, Saipin Pongsatha, Krantarat Peeyananjarassri, Patcharada Amatyakul, Verawat Wipatavit, Srinaree Kaewrudee, Chulaporn Limwattananon, Areewan Cheawchanwattana, Sugree Soontarapa, Kittisak Wilawana, Manee Rattanachaiyanont
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Change in quality of life (QoL) scores of the women with moderate-to-severe menopause-related symptoms during the first year in menopause clinics: (a) Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL), (b) European QoL-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), (c) Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) physical health domain, (d) SF-36 mental health domain. Data are mean and standard deviation. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). pHT, postmenopausal hormone therapy
Change in quality of life (QoL) scores of the women with moderate-to-severe menopause-related symptoms during the first year in menopause clinics: (a) Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL), (b) European QoL-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D), (c) Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36) physical health domain, (d) SF-36 mental health domain. Data are mean and standard deviation. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). pHT, postmenopausal hormone therapy

Sociodemographic characteristics.

AllNormal QoLImpaired QoLP
Nn (%)Nn (%)Nn (%)
Regions of residence8706252450.007
   -  Central484 (55.6)368 (58.9)116 (47.4)0.04
   -  North217 (24.9)145 (23.2)72 (29.4)0.10
   -  Northeast69 (7.9)41 (6.6)28 (11.4)0.02
   -  South100 (11.5)71 (11.4)29 (11.8)0.85
Education (y)8696242450.18
   -  <7172 (19.8)123 (19.7)49 (20.0)
   -  7 to 12133 (15.3)87 (13.9)46 (18.8)
   -  >12564 (64.9)414 (66.4)150 (61.2)
Occupational status826600226>0.99
   -  Working677 (82.0)492 (82.0)185 (81.9)
   -  Housewife123 (14.9)89 (14.8)34 (15.0)
   -  Retired26 (3.2)19 (3.2)7(3.1)
Incomes (baht/month)8225962260.14
   -  <15,000287 (34.9)196 (32.9)91 (40.3)
   -  15,000–49,999457 (55.6)342 (57.4)115 (50.9)
   -  >50,00078 (9.5)58 (9.7)20 (8.9)
Marital status8666222440.003
   -  Single104 (12.0)87 (14.0)17 (7.0)0.007
   -  Married652 (75.3)466 (74.9)186 (76.2)0.84
   -  Divorce110 (12.7)69 (11.0)41 (16.8)0.03
Nulliparous870693 (79.7)625485 (77.6)245208 (84.9)0.28
Cigarette smoking8704 (0.5)6253 (0.5)2451 (0.4)0.89

Baseline health profiles and quality of life scores

AllNormal QoLImpaired QoLP
NMean ± SD or n (%)NMean ± SD or n (%)NMean ± SD or n (%)
Age (years)85151.8 ± 5.5760752.0 ± 6.0024451.2 ± 4.400.035
  -  ≥45792 (93.1)558 (91.9)234 (95.9)0.039
Body mass index (kg/m2)85824.2 ± 3.8661324.1 ± 3.824524.5 ± 4.10.14
  -  ≥23503 (58.6)357 (58.2)146 (59.6)0.34
Waist circumference (cm)86279.1 ± 9.9662178.9 ± 9.524179.6 ± 11.20.38
  -  >80359 (41.6)255 (41.1)104 (43.2)0.58
Menopausal status6104102000.05
  -  Perimenopausal212 (34.8)144 (35.1)68 (34.0)
  -  Natural menopause186 (30.5)122 (29.8)64 (32.0)
  -  Surgical menopause212 (34.8)144 (35.1)68 (34.0)
Duration of menopause >5 y604248 (41.1)410188 (45.9)20060 (30.0)0.06
Presence of moderate-to-severe menopause-related symptoms
870276 (31.7)62594 (15.0)245182 (74.3)<0.001
Presence of medical diseases

Each woman might have more than one disease.

870532 (61.2)625372 (59.5)245160 (65.3)0.11
  -  Diabetes mellitus53240 (7.5)37230 (8.1)16010 (6.3)0.65
  -  Hypertension532144 (27.1)37299 (26.6)16045 (28.1)0.37
  -  Heart disease53213 (2.4)37210 (2.7)1603 (1.9)0.68
  -  Dyslipidemia53298 (18.4)37267 (18.0)16031 (19.4)0.42
  -  Bone and joint diseases532126 (23.7)37288 (23.7)16038 (23.8)0.59
  -  Others532120 (22.6)37284 (22.6)16036 (22.5)0.64
Presence of previous fracture87094 (10.8)62568 (10.9)24526 (10.6)0.12
  -  Wrist9486 (91.5)6861 (89.7)2625 (96.2)0.84
  -  Femoral neck9419 (20.2)6814 (20.6)265 (19.2)0.86
  -  Spine9412 (12.8)6810 (14.7)262 (7.7)0.37
Fasting blood glucose (mg/dL)63694.7 ± 28.744393.7 ± 13.119397.1 ± 48.20.18
  -  >100130 (20.4)85 (19.2)45 (23.3)0.49
Cholesterol (mg/dL)645215.1 ± 45.8454214.7 ± 47.4191216.0 ± 42.00.75
  -  ≥200399 (61.9)277 (61.0)122 (63.9)0.50
LDL (mg/dL)556134.6 ± 40.3387134.8 ± 41.3387134.3 ± 38.20.89
  -  ≥160125 (22.5)86 (22.2)39 (10.1)0.82
HDL (mg/dL)57560.02 ± 26.5640160.4 ± 30.017459.1 ± 16.00.58
  -  <50171 (29.7)115 (28.7)56 (32.2)0.40
Triglyceride (mg/dL)639111.4 ± 63.6451108.6 ± 53.5188118.2 ± 82.70.083
  -  ≥150130 (20.3)92 (20.4)38 (20.2)0.96
Bone mineral density T-score
<–2.5 SD
  -  Spine18313 (7.1)1238 (6.5)605 (8.3)0.24
  -  Femoral neck1783 (1.69)1202 (1.67)581 (1.72)0.57
BI-RADS IV mammography1089 (8.33)746 (8.11)343 (8.82)0.83
QoL scores
  -  MENQOL8703.34 ± 1.246252.71 ± 0.702454.95 ± 0.80NA
  -  EQ-5D8650.76 ± 0.166210.80 ± 0.122440.66 ± 0.20<0.001
  -  SF-3687061.3 ± 16.1762548.4 ± 14.8724516.4 ± 13.64<0.001

Prevalence of menopause-related symptoms in peri- or postmenopausal Thai women

Symptomsn% (95%CI)
Psychoemotional distress
  -  Moody68578.7 (75.9–81.4)
  -  Insomnia62371.6 (68.5–75.6)
  -  Headache62071.3 (68.1–74.3)
  -  Loss of libido59069.2 (65.9–72.3)
  -  Fatigue58066.7 (63.4–69.8)
  -  Depression36742.2 (38.9–45.5)
Musculoskeletal pain
  -  Joint pain67878.0 (75.1–80.7)
  -  Muscle strain67677.8 (74.9–80.5)
  -  Back pain66176.1 (73.1–78.9)
Hot flushes57966.6 (63.1–69.7)
Skin dryness55664.0 (60.7–67.2)
Urogenital symptoms
  -  Vaginal dryness53962.7 (59.4–66.0)
  -  Dyspareunia45755.2 (51.7–58.6)
  -  Urinary incontinence40846.9 (43.5–50.3)
  -  Urinary frequency32136.9 (33.7–40.2)
  -  Dysuria25128.9 (25.9–32.0)

Quality of life at baseline and types of treatment initiated during the first year of follow-up period in 276 women with moderate-to-severe menopause-related symptoms

NMean ± SD or n (%)
QoL scores at baseline
    MENQOL2764.51 ± 1.14
    EQ-5D2760.67 ± 0.20
    SF-3627651.01 ± 15.58
      Physical health27651.26 ± 18.72
      Mental health27650.61 ± 14.89
Treatments
    pHT22927 (11.8)
    non-pHT229106 (46.3)
      SSRI/SNRI10612 (11.3)
      Herbal products10683 (78.3)
      Vitamin and calcium1063 (2.8)
      Others10649 (46.2)
    Combined therapy22996 (41.9)
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