Impaired quality of life among middle aged XXXX : a multicentre Latin American study.

@entity1 @entity323 @entity73 @entity2754 @entity1168 @entity34
BACKGROUND: Several studies indicate that quality of life (QoL) is impaired in middle aged @entity1 . Assessment of QoL using a single validated tool in Latin American climacteric @entity1 has not been reported to date at large scale. OBJECTIVE: The @entity1168 ( @entity1168 ) was used to assess QoL among middle aged Latin American @entity1 and determine factors associated with severe menopausal symptoms ( @entity73 ). METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 8373 healthy @entity1 aged 40-59 years, accompanying @entity1 to healthcare centres in 18 cities of 12 Latin American countries, were asked to fill out the @entity1168 and a questionnaire containing socio-demographic, female and partner data. RESULTS: Mean age of the entire sample was 49.1+/-5.7 years (median 49), a 62.5% had 12 or less years of schooling, 48.8% were postmenopausal and 14.7% were on @entity34 ( @entity34 ). Mean total @entity1168 score (n=8373) was 11.3+/-8.5 (median 10); for the somatic subscale, 4.1+/-3.4; the psychological subscale, 4.6+/-3.8 and the urogenital subscale, 2.5+/-2.7. The prevalence of @entity1 presenting moderate to severe total @entity1168 scorings was high (>50%) in all countries, Chile and Uruguay being the ones with the highest percentages (80.8% and 67.4%, respectively). Logistic regression determined that impaired QoL (severe total @entity1168 score > or =17) was associated with the use of alternatives therapies for menopause (OR: 1.47, 95% CI [1.22-1.76], p=0.0001), the use of psychiatric drugs (OR: 1.57, 95% CI [1.29-1.90], p=0.0001), attending a psychiatrist (OR: 1.66, 95% CI [1.41-1.96], p=0.0001), being postmenopausal (OR: 1.48, 95% CI [1.29-1.69, p=0.0001]), having 49 years or more (OR: 1.24, 95% CI [1.08-1.42], p=0.001), living at high altitude (OR: 1.43, 95% CI [1.25-1.62, p=0.0001]) and having a partner with @entity323 (OR: 1.69, 95% CI [1.47-1.94, p=0.0001]) or @entity2754 (OR: 1.34, 95% CI [1.16-1.55, p=0.0001]). Lower risk for impaired QoL was related to living in a country with a lower income (OR: 0.77, 95% CI [0.68-0.88], p=0.0002), using @entity34 (OR: 0.65, 95% CI [0.56-0.76], p=0.0001) and engaging in healthy habits (OR: 0.59, 95% CI [0.50-0.69], p=0.0001). CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge this is the first and largest study assessing QoL in a Latin American climacteric series with a high prevalence of impairment related to individual female and male characteristics and the demography of the studied population.
