Life stress and symptoms in menopause clinic patients and non-patients

Abstract

Life stress, physical and psychological complaints were investigated in menopause clinic patients and non-patients. Patients reported not only more characteristic menopause complaints as vasomotor symptoms, but also more physical and psychological symptoms. No differences were found between the patient and non-patient sample in the number of life events and exits that occurred during the previous 12 months. Patients, however, reported a higher negative impact of the life events they had encountered and reacted with more depressive symptoms upon stressful life events. These results suggest that a higher susceptibility to stressful life events rather than the occurrence of specific life events, such as exits, plays an important role in the occurrence of symptoms which are often attributed to the menopause.