Literature review of instruments to assess health-related quality of life during and after menopause (original) (raw)

Quality of life (QOL) in menopause

Maturitas, 2007

Quality of life (QOL) is generally not precisely defined or measured. This has resulted in confusing and often misleading conclusions in multiple publications, including those coming from both the HERS and the WHI writing groups. Health-related QOL and global QOL are accurately defined, and current instruments for measuring them are available. In the continuing effort to determine the true risks and benefits of postmenopausal hormone usage, it is critical that the full spectrum of effects be measured. There is no excuse for future studies on hormone use not to include well-validated instruments for measuring QOL and for not reporting those effects as part of the rest of the study. Questionnaire instruments can often provide more information than many of the invasive tests that are part of contemporary trials. They also add little cost, yet can be invaluable in the analysis of real cost-effectiveness of interventions in contemporary women's health care. Beyond safety and efficacy evaluation of drug therapies, there is an absolute need to know about the real impact of these therapies on overall quality of life.

Impact of hormone therapy on quality of life after menopause

Menopause, 2013

Objective: Given the complexity of the literature on quality of life (QOL) and hormone therapy (HT) among women in the menopausal transition and postmenopause, the purposes of this integrative review were to (1) define QOL as a multidimensional construct; (2) review validated instruments for measurement of QOL; (3) review results of HT and QOL clinical trials that have used validated instruments; and (4) assess the effectiveness of HT on QOL, including health-related QOL (HRQOL), menopause-specific QOL (MSQOL), and global QOL (GQOL). Methods: The literature on HT and QOL was searched for definitions of QOL and validated instruments for measuring QOL, and the results were summarized. The purposes of this integrative review were to evaluate the effects of HT on HRQOL, differentiating the effects of HT on GQOL, HRQOL, and MSQOL. As a basis for this review, we searched for published controlled clinical trials in which the effects of HT on QOL were studied using validated QOL instruments, in particular menopause-specific validated instruments. Results: Clear definitions are elucidated. Validated instruments for the measurements of HRQOL, GQOL, and MSQOL are summarized, and the necessity of their incorporation into future research and clinical practice is emphasized. The published effects on QOL of estrogens and progestogens administered to symptomatic and nonsymptomatic women in the menopausal transition and beyond are reviewed. Conclusions: The impact of various health stateYrelated symptoms on HRQOL and GQOL is now an integral component of contemporary health care. Effects of HT include GQOL and HRQOL and should be menopausespecific. There is clearly a need for further studies on menopause and menopause-related therapies using appropriate and validated instruments. Literature review shows that HT provides a significant benefit for MSQOL in midlife women, mainly through relief of symptoms, but treatment also may result in a global increase in sense of well-being (GQOL). HRQOL benefits are contingent on symptom status, as are MSQOL outcomes. Women who are severely symptomatic experience a significant improvement in HRQOL and MSQOL, although this improvement is not significant among women without severe symptoms at baseline measures in clinical trials.

Predictive and criterion validity of the Cervantes-SF menopause quality of life questionnaire

Menopause, 2021

Objectives:To determine the predictive and criterion-based validity of the Cervantes-SF scale that measures the impact of menopause on Health-Related Quality of Life.Methods:We recruited a noninstitutionalized sample of peri/postmenopausal women aged 40 to 65 years, who had their last menstrual cycle 12+ months prior to inclusion in the study of the psychometric validity of the Cervantes-SF scale. Predictive validity of the scale was confirmed for various health outcome measures administered concomitantly (years of disability-free life expectancy, work productivity and impact on daily activities, economic impact arising from loss of work productivity, hours of undisturbed sleep each day, and the utilization of healthcare facilities), whilst criterion validity was determined by the likelihood of identifying a moderate-to-severe vasomotor or genital syndrome requiring specific treatment.Results:A sample of 308 peri/postmenopausal women with a mean age of 55.7 years (SD: 5.3 y) was ana...

International versions of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS)

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2003

Background: Symptom scales for aging women have clinically been used for years and the interest in measuring health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has increased in recent years. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) is a formally validated scale according to the requirements for quality of life instruments. The aim of this paper is to review the current state of the instrument particularly concerning versions of the scale in different languages.

Assessment of the QoL in Italian menopausal women: comparison between HRT users and non-users

Maturitas, 2002

Objectives: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe QoL in a large sample of women attending menopause centres and compare untreated postmenopausal women and matched HRT users by employing the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) and two generic instruments, the SF-36 and the EQ-5D. Methods: Overall, 2906 women were recruited by 64 menopause centres throughout Italy, of whom 2160 filled in the questionnaire (1093 on HRT and 1067 not on HRT; response rate: 74%). Results: HRT users tended to be younger, healthier and with shorter menopause duration as opposed to non users, while no major socioeconomic differences were present. At multivariate analysis, the presence of chronic diseases, low socioeconomic status and living in Southern Italy represented the most important predictors of poor QoL. Furthermore, HRT users showed a lower probability of reporting problems in usual activities and pain/discomfort (EQ-5D), role limitations due to emotional problems (SF-36) and anxiety/fears (WHQ). HRT users also showed highly significant better outcomes in those areas that are more directly attributable to hormonal changes of mid age, namely vasomotor symptoms and sexual problems. Conclusions: Although QoL is mainly influenced by socioeconomic and cultural factors, HRT has the potential for improving not only symptoms, but also more general aspects of physical and psychological well-being of symptomatic postmenopausal women.

Quality of Life and Its Relevant Factors in Menopausal Women

Journal of Holistic Nursing And Midwifery, 2022

Menopause is an essential part of human life that affects women's Quality of Life (QoL). Objective: This study investigated the QoL and some relevant factors in menopausal women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 45-60 years old menopausal women in 3 areas of Kashan city, Iran in 2018. By cluster sampling method, 236 participants were included in the study. The study questionnaires consist of demographic and obstetric information and Menopausal QoL (MENQoL). The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, t test, the Pearson and Spearman correlation tests, as well as linear regression analysis, were used for data analysis. Results: The Mean±SD age of the women was 52.65±3.67 years. Also, their Mean±SD for elapsed years since menopause was 2.89±1.53, and the Mean±SD for QOL was 31.24±11.47. There were no significant correlations between QOL and women's age, menopausal age, and elapsed years since menopause. Based on linear regression analysis, the variables of age (B=2.61, 95%CI; 0.46-4.77, P=0.02), menopausal age (B=-2.19, 95%CI;-4.39-0.01, P=0.049), and satisfaction of spouse ((B=-4.90, 95%CI;-8.45-0.35, P=0.007) remained in the model as relegated variables to QoL score (R 2 =11.8%). Conclusion: Since most women had moderate menopausal QOL score, intervention programs to improve the QOL for postmenopausal women is recommended in health centers. Further studies are suggested to evaluate the QoL in chronic diseases of postmenopausal women.

Quality of life after the menopause: a population study

Maturitas, 2000

Objecti6e: To assess the impact of menopause and some sociodemographic variables on quality of life (QoL). Materials and methods: Four hundred and eighty-one women aged 40-59 years attending the Southern Metropolitan Health Service in Santiago de Chile were studied using the Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire for Menopause from Toronto University. Results: Univariate analysis showed that menopausal women have worse QoL scores than women conserving cycles in the four areas of the questionnaire: They show a 10.6-fold higher risk for suffering vasomotor disorders affecting QoL, a 3.5-fold higher risk for psychosocial impairment, a 5.7-fold higher risk for physical disorders, and a 3.2-fold higher risk for sexual disorders (PB0.0001). Regarding the influence of social markers (age, marital status, school years, work, number of children and sexual activity), housewives were found to have higher, worse, scores than working women in all test components (vasomotor, 3.