The association between physical activity and menopause-related quality of life

Abstract

Background/aims Menopause can cause drastic changes that trigger severe symptoms in women and, in turn, influence their quality of life. Many women no longer prefer hormone replacement therapy because of its potential adverse effects. Hence, it is crucial to establish alternate interventions to alleviate menopausal symptoms. The aim of this study was to estimate the relationship between quality of life and level of physical activity in menopausal women. Methods A total of 260 postmenopausal women were recruited in this cross-sectional study. The Menopause Rating Scale and International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form were used to assess quality of life and physical activity respectively. Results Women with higher levels of physical activity had fewer total menopausal, somato-vegetative and psychological symptoms (P<0.001); no differences were found in vasomotor and urogenital symptoms. Conclusions Women with low physical activity levels presented with greater menopausal symptoms. Regular physical activity can be recommended to alleviate symptoms following menopause, thereby improving quality of life.

Correlates of palpitations during menopause: A scoping review

“… 67 Similarly, lesser palpitations were associated with greater moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. 39 In contrast, in three articles, there were no significant differences in palpitations across low, moderate, and high physical activity groups 54 , 104 or between those who did and did not report regular exercise. 58 …”

“…in palpitations across low, moderate, and high physical activity groups 54,104 or between those who did and did not report regular exercise. 58 VMS and sleep.…”

Psychological and social health outcomes of physical activity around menopause: A scoping review of research

“…Most of the included cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort studies [31,35,71,77,80,[83][84][85][86][87][88] as well as intervention studies [38,45,46,51,60,61,69,74,89] addressing menopausal symptoms find that women with higher levels of regular PA report fewer and/or less severe psychological menopausal symptoms (such as depression, anxiety, and exhaustion) than women with low levels of PA. Nevertheless, the relationship seems quite complex.…”

“…All included intervention studies [44,46,51,53,60,63,65,74], longitudinal cohort studies [42,77] and cross-sectional studies [31,40,75,81,83,87,[100][101][102][103][104][105][106] addressing depression report an inverse association between PA and depression. Only one cross sectional-study [92] reported that regular PA before menopause was unassociated with reduced depressive feelings during perimenopause.…”

“…One study reports that menopausal status is a variable, as pre-and early perimenopausal women need a high activity level to reduce depressive symptoms, whereas postmenopausal women, at both medium and high PA levels, are associated with lower depressive symptoms than women at a low PA level [100]. Other independent variables associated with depression are marital status [101], available social support [102], subjective health status and menopausal symptoms [81,83,87], and BMI [65]. Conversely, some studies show that PA level reduces depressed mood, regardless of potential confounders [42] such as weight status, level of hot flushes [40] and physical performance [33].…”