MEASURING QUALITY OF LIFE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN

Measuring Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women

Measuring Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women

Introduction

Menopause is the time of a woman's last menstrual period. It is an important milestone in a woman's life. It means the end of, on average, 40 years of menstruation, which for many women is a monthly burden, especially when entering the perimenopausal years. However, menopause is also the definite beginning of infertility, which may come as a serious frustration for women who have remained childless, sometimes after years of unsuccessful intervention (Eskin, 2000). Directly or indirectly because of hormonal changes related to ovarian aging, climacteric women are susceptible to one or more physical and psychological symptoms or complaints that may seriously interfere with quality of life, which can be defined as the physical and psychosocial situation of an individual, and the individual's personal appreciation of her situation and perspectives in life. Moreover, estrogen deficiency may be associated with chronic diseases, such as osteoporosis, coronary heart disease (CHD) and dementia, which all substantially interfere with life expectancy and well-being. This paper measures quality of life in postmenopausal women

Measuring Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women

The menopausal transition is not only an endocrinological phenomenon. It often coincides with other life events or problems, such as illnesses, deaths of friends or relatives, children leaving the family home, parents being old and in need of care and attention, (early) retirement or unemployment, and marital problems or divorce (Eskin, 2000). Coping mechanisms to deal with these life events may easily fail if someone is also experiencing one or more climacteric symptoms.

Since estrogen deficiency plays a central role in climacteric problems, estrogen therapy is likely a rational treatment for women experiencing these symptoms and who are at risk for the associated chronic diseases. This review focuses on menopause as a factor interfering with, and discusses postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT) as one option for improving, women's health and quality of life (Brincat, et al, 2000).

Since there are considerable inconsistencies in the terminology used by different authors, the definitions of some frequently used terms are given.

* Menopause: the time of last vaginal bleeding induced by the influence of ovarian hormones on the endometrium. Natural menopause can only be established in retrospect, after 12 consecutive months of amenorrhoea. The median age of menopause is 51 years. In the US, the term menopause is also used with reference to the postmenopausal period (Brincat, et al, 2000).

* Postmenopause: the stage of life after the menopause.

* Climacteric: the years of perimenopausal transition in which definitive physical changes linked to ovarian aging take place in a woman's body. These physical changes are often accompanied by changes in family and social environment that may have a profound influence on psychosocial functioning.

* PHT: medication with estrogens or a combination of estrogens and progestogens (including perimenopausal use of oral contraceptives) for the treatment of climacteric symptoms or for the prevention of chronic diseases related to estrogen deficiency (Cooper, 1997). PHT is a modern description of what was traditionally referred ...