Factors Affecting Quality of Life after Menopause in Women

Most women experience significant changes in quality of life(QOL) during and after menopausal and few researchers have quantified these changes. The aim of the present research was to assess quality of life(QOL) and determine factors related to its impairment among postmenopausal Iranian women.

This cross-sectional study was conducted by cluster sampling method among 300 post-menopausal women in Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008. Data was collected using the menopause quality of life questionnaire(MENQOL) by interview. Content validity and Cronbach's alpha were used respectively to ensure the validity and reliability of the questionnaires. Inferential and descriptive statistics via SPSS.15 software were used for data analysis.

The mean scores for quality of life in various dimensions were as follows: vasomotor dimension 12.34±4.71, psychological dimension 18.15±8.89, physical dimension 41.09±16.37 and in sexual dimension it was 10.97±6.52. There were significant relationships between psychological, physical and sexual dimensions and education level, economic level, health level (p < 0.05) regardless of Spearman’s correlation, There were significant relationships between, physical and sexual dimensions and number of pregnancies and age(p < 0.05).

Menopause causes a decrease in quality of life that is dependent on work and other sociodemographic variables. It is therefore necessary to develop effective interventional programs to improve quality of life after menopause.