Prevalence of menopause symptoms and their association with lifestyle among Finnish middle-aged women

Background and aim of the study The aim of this study is to report the prevalence of menopausal symptoms by severity among the Finnish female population and the association of their symptoms with lifestyle (smoking use of alcohol physical activity) and body mass index (BMI) Material and methods Health 2000 is a nationally representative population-based study of Finnish adults Data were collected by home interview three self-administered questionnaires and a clinical examination by a physician This study included women aged 45-64 years (n = 1427) All symptoms included menopause-specific symptoms Both univariate analysis and a factor analysis based on symptom factors were performed by menopausal group Multiple regression analysis included each symptom factor as a dependent variable and confounding and lifestyle factors (age education smoking alcohol use physical activity BMI use of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) and chronic disease status) Results Over one-third (38%) of the premenopausal half of the perimenopausal and 54% of both postmenopausal and hysterectomized women reported bothersome symptoms The difference between pre-and perimenopausal women was largest and statistically most significant in the case of back pain and hot flushes Physically active women reported fewer somatic symptoms than did women with a sedentary lifestyle Smoking was not related to vasomotor symptoms Conclusion Bothersome symptoms are common in midlife regardless of menopausal status Inverse association between physical activity and menopausal symptoms needs to be confirmed in randomized trials (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd All rights reserved