Quality of Life among Iranian Postmenopausal Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Menopause can cause mental, physical, vasomotor, and sexual symptoms and problems, which negatively affect the quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate QOL among Iranian postmenopausal women. This systematic review was conducted on cross-sectional studies that were published between 2000 and 2018. An online search to find studies published in English or Persian was conducted in the databases of Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus, Google Scholar, Scientific Information Database, Magiran, and IranMedex. Search key terms were “quality of life”, “menopause”, and “Iran”. Fourteen studies were eligible for this study. The Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist was used for quality appraisal. The mean and standard deviation of QOL and its domains were extracted from the selected studies. Study data were analyzed using the Review Manager (v. 5.0) and the STATA (v. 12.0) software. The mean of total QOL among 3413 postmenopausal women was 57.89±12.8 (in the possible range of 0–174). The means of its vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual domains were 7.86±2.14, 19.43±2.05, 40.58±3.33, and 6.71±1.77, respectively. The QOL among Iranian postmenopausal women is nearly higher than the moderate level. The lowest and the highest levels of QOL are related to the physical and sexual domains, respectively. Health authorities need to develop educational interventions to promote postmenopausal women’s QOL, particularly in the physical domain. [GMJ.2020;9:e1649]

Symptoms, Demographic Parameters and Health Profile of Post-Menopausal Women

“…It was concluded that physical and sexual symptoms mainly were responsible for the poor quality of life among Iranian post-menopausal women. 15 Our results supported the findings as more than half of our study participants had physical symptoms, and 38.2% reported dyspareunia. Unfortunately, we did not quantify the quality of life of our participants, but current data could serve as the basis for future studies incorporating quality of life parameters.…”

Quality of life of Jordanian menopausal working and retired women and its associated factors: a cross-sectional study

“…8 In a meta-analysis study of 14 studies among Iranian post-menopausal women, it was found that the mean QoL was higher than moderate, while the lowest QoL was reported for the physical and the sexual domain. 9 In one Egyptian study using menopausal specific quality of life instrument (MENQOL), it was found that physical symptoms were perceived as the most affecting to women's QoL, and had the lowest means score. 10 Another study in Iran used WHO Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) among pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women; QoL was found to be negatively correlated with menopausal symptoms at all WHOOL domains (physical health, psychological health and social interactions).…”

Correlations of Body Mass Index, Quality of Life, and Severity of Menopausal Symptoms in Women During the Transition to Menopause

“…In the current research, the mean total score of quality of life was 75.8 (average), and the dimensions with the lowest and highest scores were the physical and sexual dimensions, respectively. Therefore, it could be inferred that women in Iran have a moderate quality of life and may experience physical problems before and after menopause (20).…”

“…As mentioned earlier, women are vital members of the community and account for half of the world's popula-tion. Since the transition to menopause and the associated symptoms in this period affect the mental health and wellbeing of women and lead to decreased quality of life (19)(20)(21)(22), special attention must be paid to women's life by healthcare providers to adopt the most effective strategies in this regard. Midwives have an important responsibility to consult and train these women, as well as their families and the community (19).…”