Pilot study of menopause symptoms in a clinic population

Abstract

Objective: 

Studies analyzing menopause symptoms have primarily focused on white women of higher socioeconomic status. With an aging population and a longer life expectancy, we can anticipate a significant rise in women presenting with menopause symptoms and issues related to quality of life. It is important to know whether current data regarding menopause symptoms are applicable to all women seeking care.

Design: 

Data from the first 80 consecutive women, predominantly Hispanic and of lower socioeconomic status, presenting to the Women's Life Center at Hartford Hospital were analyzed for demographic and socioeconomic variables, depression, factors related to quality of life, and menopause symptoms.

Results: 

Although hot flashes (63.8%) and night sweats (55.1%) occurred at a frequency similar to that reported in the literature, mood swings (77.9%), decrease in energy (75.9%), sleeping problems (73.4%), and memory problems (67.1%) were the four most common symptoms. Although there were many symptoms that could impact negatively on their quality of life, 82.3% felt that it was wonderful to be alive during menopause, 73% were satisfied with their life, and the cumulative depression score did not fall into the depressed category.

Conclusions: 

This sample of predominantly Hispanic women of lower socioeconomic status experienced negative quality-of-life-related symptoms at a much higher frequency than has been previously reported. The menopause years, although feared by many, can be a wonderful time in a woman's life. Whether the differences identified are due to ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, or a combination of the two has yet to be determined.

In Brief

Statistically significant differences in the frequency of several menopause symptoms were found between a sample of white and nonwhite patients. These findings raise the question of whether race/ethnicity may be an independent variable accounting for these differences, or whether they can be explained by socioeconomic factors alone.