Another period of women's life: menopause and its impact on quality of life

Yontem: Kesitsel tan›mlay›c› desendeki bu cal›flmaya Kad›n Hasta- l›klar› ve Doum ve Aile Hekimlii polikliniklerine baflvuran 40-65 yafl aras›ndaki 300 kad›n al›nd›. Kat›l›mc›lara sosyo-demografik bil- gileri iceren bir anket formunun yan› s›ra, Menopoz ‹liflkili Semptom Olcei (MRS) ve SF-36 Yaflam Kalitesi Olcei uyguland›. Kad›nlar, STRAW s›n›flamas›na gore menopoz oncesi ve menopoz donemi olarak iki grup halinde deerlendirildi. Bulgular: Cal›flmaya menopoz oncesi donemde 57 (%19.0) ve me- nopozda 243 (%81.0) kad›n kat›ld›. Yafl ortalamas› 53.7±6.1 olan kat›l›mc›lar›n menopoza girme yafl› ortalamas› 47.7± 4.5 idi. Meno- poz oncesi donemdeki kat›l›mc›lar (17.7±10.0) ile menopoz done- mindekilerin (16.0±8.7) MRS toplam puan ortalamalar› aras›nda an- laml› bir fark yoktu (p>0.05). Menopoz oncesi ve menopoz done- mindeki kad›nlar›n SF-36 yaflam kalitesi skorlar› aras›nda da anlaml› bir fark saptanmad› (p>0.05). Kat›l›mc›lar›n MRS skorlar›yla yaflam kalitesi rol guclu¤u fiziksel (rho=-0.407; p 0.05). There was no significant differences between premenopausal and menopausal women regarding the SF-36 scores (p>0.05). MRS scores and the quality of life subscores of role limitations-physical (rho=-.407, p<.001), and role limitations-emotional (rho=-.378, p<.001) had moderately inverse correlation between the participants'. Pain (rho=0.223, p=0.001) and general health scores (rho=0.152, p=0.039) had a linear weak whereas physical function (rho=- 0.313, p<0.001), mental health (rho=-.288, p<0.001) and social functioning (rho=-.171, p=.013) scores had only weak inverse correlation. Conclusions: Psychological symptoms related to menopause start prior to menopause but there is no significant difference in menopause. There is no difference regarding quality of life between premenopause and menopuse period. As the severity of symptoms associated with menopause increase, role limitations due to physi- cal and emotional quality of life declines.