Severe menopausal symptoms in middle-aged XXXX are associated to female and male factors.

@entity1 @entity323 @entity308 @entity146 @entity167 @entity2754 @entity1168 @entity250
BACKGROUND: The frequency and intensity of menopausal symptoms within a given population, as assessed by several tools, may vary and depend on several factors, such as age, menopausal status, chronic conditions and personal and partner socio-demographic profile. OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and intensity of menopausal symptoms and related risk factors among middle-aged @entity1 . METHODS: In this cross-sectional study a total of 404 @entity1 aged 40 to 59 years, visiting inpatients at the Enrique C. Sotomayor Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital, Guayaquil, Ecuador, were requested to fill out the @entity1168 ( @entity1168 ) and a questionnaire containing personal and partner data. RESULTS: Mean age of surveyed @entity1 (n=404) was 48.2+/-5.7 years, 85.1% had 12 or less years of schooling and 44.8% were postmenopausal. None was on hormonal therapy (HT) for the menopause or psychotropic drugs. Regarding their partner, @entity323 was present in 23.8%, @entity2754 in 21.2% and 43.5% abused @entity167 . The four most frequently found symptoms of those composing the @entity1168 were muscle and joint problems (80%), @entity308 mood (73.5%), physical and mental exhaustion (71.3%) and @entity146 (68%). Mean total @entity1168 score was 18+/-10.6 (median 17) and for subscales: 7.2+/-4.5 (somatic); 6.9+/-4.8 (psychological) and 3.9+/-3.4 (urogenital). @entity1 presented severe scores in 53, 36.1, 48.3 and 49.8% for total @entity1168 and somatic, psychological and urogenital subscales, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, logistic regression analysis determined that female higher parity and partner @entity2754 increased the risk for presenting severe total @entity1168 scores (impaired female quality of life), whereas @entity1 who had a positive perception of their health status were at decreased risk. CONCLUSION: In this middle-aged series psychological menopausal symptoms were the most frequent in which severity was associated to parity and partner @entity250 .
