The relationship between exercise, Body Mass Index and menopausal symptoms in midlife Australian women

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to examine the relationship between physical activity and Body Mass Index (BMI) on menopausal symptoms in Australian midlife women. This study is a secondary data analysis of the Queensland Midlife Women Health Study (2001), which included a randomized, population-based postal survey with a questionnaire. Selected women completed a questionnaire, which included measurement of sociodemographic factors (age, employment and education attainment), general health, use of hormone replacement therapy, smoking, exercise pattern and BMI. The measures that are reported in this paper include menopausal symptoms, BMI and exercise. After adjusting for confounding variables, significant multivariate difference was still found for most menopausal symptoms, including a significant relationship between somatic symptoms, psychological symptoms, depression and anxiety. No significant relationship was seen, however, between vasomotor symptoms, sexual function and exercise. In conclusion, the study showed that exercise was effective in relieving somatic and psychological symptoms, including depression and anxiety. These findings are promising news for women who are interested in using non-pharmacological interventions for relieving menopausal symptoms.

To exercise, or, not to exercise, during menopause and beyond

“…The effects of exercise in reducing psychological symptoms have been widely reported. A study including Australian midlife women, noted, that exercise was beneficial for somatic and psychological symptoms including depression and anxiety, but not for vasomotor symptoms or sexual function [56].…”

“…Providing mental distraction and social interaction [26,56] are some of the explanations provided for the psychological benefits associated with exercise participation.…”

How to evaluate quality of life in overweight and obese women during climacterium?

“…42 In these three studies, two were conducted by the same author (Llaneza et al 9 , making it difficult to generalize the results. 35,36 Alonso et al 39 used the Kupperman Index, according to the data found in the literature about its widespread use, even with criticism for not addressing urogenital, social and other symptoms related to sexuality. 9,43-45 Mirzaiinjmabadi et al 39 used the Greene Scale, a list of 21 items including psychological, vasomotor and somatic symptoms, which was not exactly designed as an instrument of quality of life.…”

“…35,36 Alonso et al 39 used the Kupperman Index, according to the data found in the literature about its widespread use, even with criticism for not addressing urogenital, social and other symptoms related to sexuality. 9,43-45 Mirzaiinjmabadi et al 39 used the Greene Scale, a list of 21 items including psychological, vasomotor and somatic symptoms, which was not exactly designed as an instrument of quality of life. 21,39 The other specific questionnaires were: Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) and Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MEN-QOL), which have already been validated and are the main scales currently used in studies on women in transition to menopause and post-menopause.…”

“…9,[33][34][35][36][37][38][39] The Cervantes Scale was the most prevalent, found in three of them. [34][35][36] The instrument was developed in Spanish, mainly for use in this population, and translated into Portuguese, despite being validated in a limited number of countries.…”