Menopausal symptoms and quality of life among Saudi women visiting primary care clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Figures & data

Table 1 Baseline characteristic of participants

Characteristics	n=119
Age (years), mean ± SD	49.7±3.5
BMI, n (%)
Underweight	2 (1.7)
Normal weight	43 (36.1)
Overweight	50 (42)
Obese	24 (20.2)
Marital status, n (%)
Single	0
Married	92 (77.3)
Widow	24 (20.2)
Separated	3 (2.5)
Educational level, n (%)
Illiterate	99 (83.2)
Primary school	14 (11.8)
Intermediate school	5 (4.2)
High school	1 (0.8)
Occupation, n (%)
Housewife	116 (97.5)
Working	2 (1.7)
Retired	1 (0.8)
Parity, n (%)
Parous	119 (100)
Smoking, n (%)
Never	117 (98.3)
Past smoker	1 (0.8)
Current smoker	1 (0.8)
Exercise (times/week), n (%)
<3	106 (89.1)
3–5	4 (3.4)
>5	9 (7.6)

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index.

Table 2 Characteristics of participants according to menopausal status (n=119)

Characteristics	Menopausal status
	Premenopause, n	Perimenopause, n	Postmenopause, n
Total no (%)	31 (26.1)	49 (41.2)	39 (32.8)
Age (years), mean ± SD	46.55±2.095	49.65±2.705	52.31±3.381
BMI, n (%)
Underweight	1 (0.8)	0 (0)	1 (0.8)
Normal weight	14 (11.8)	17 (14.3)	12 (10.1)
Overweight	11 (9.2)	22 (18.5)	17 (14.3)
Obese	5 (4.2)	10 (8.4)	9 (7.6)
Marital status, n (%)
Single	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Married	25 (21)	38 (31.9)	29 (24.4)
Widow	5 (4.2)	11 (9.2)	8 (6.7)
Separated	1 (0.8)	0 (0)	2 (1.7)
Educational level, n (%)
Illiterate	25 (21)	38 (31.9)	36 (30.3)
Primary school	4 (3.4)	8 (6.7)	2 (1.7)
Intermediate school	2 (1.7)	2 (1.7)	1 (0.8)
High school	0 (0)	1 (0.8)	0 (0)
Occupation, n (%)
Housewife	29 (24.4)	48 (40.3)	39 (32.8)
Working	1 (0.8)	1 (0.8)	0 (0)
Retired	1 (0.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Parity, n (%)
Parous	31 (26.1)	49 (41.2)	39 (32.8)
Smoking, n (%)
Never	31 (26.1)	48 (40.3)	38 (31.9)
Past smoker	0 (0)	1 (0.8)	0 (0)
Current smoker	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (0.8)
Exercise (times/week), n (%)
<3	30 (25.2)	40 (33.6)	36 (30.3)
3–5	0 (0)	4 (3.4)	0 (0)
>5	1 (0.8)	5 (4.2)	3 (2.5)

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index.

Table 3 Prevalence of menopausal symptoms according to Menopause Rating Scale (n=119)

Menopausal symptoms	% with symptoms	% with moderate to very severe
1: hot flush, sweating	47.1	31.1
2: heart discomfort	35.3	10.1
3: sleep problems	26.1	14.3
4: depressive mood	29.4	12.6
5: irritability	28.6	11.8
6: anxiety	31.1	11.8
7: physical and mental exhaustion	64.7	27.7
8: sexual problems	24.4	19.3
9: bladder problems	30.3	12.6
10: vaginal dryness	31.1	14.3
11: joint and muscular discomfort	80.7	51.3

Table 4 Prevalence of menopausal symptoms according to menopausal status (n=119)

Subscale	Prevalence (%) of menopausal symptoms
	Menopausal status			P-value
	Pre (n=31)	Peri (n=49)	Post (n=39)	Pre vs peri	Pre vs post
Somatic
1: hot flush, sweating	7.6	24.4	15.1	0.009	0.144
2: heart	8.4	16.8	10.1	0.441	0.894
3: sleep problem discomfort	7.6	8.4	10.1	0.377	0.875
11: joint and muscle	20.2	36.1	24.4	0.222	0.767
Psychological
4: depressive mood	4.2	13.4	11.8	0.102	0.065
5: irritability	5	10.9	12.6	0.462	0.083
6: anxiety	5	14.3	11.8	0.14	0.128
7: physical and mental exhaustion	14.3	28.6	21.8	0.187	0.313
Urogenital
8: sexual problems	6.7	7.6	10.1	0.428	0.648
9: bladder problem	5	19.3	5.9	0.012	0.881
10: vaginal dryness	7.6	13.4	10.1	0.734	0.875

Note: Bold values represent statistically significant values.

Table 5 Mean scores of MRS according to menopausal status

Subscale	Menopausal status			P-value**
	Pre (n=31)	Peri (n=49)	Post (n=39)	Pre vs peri	Pre vs post
Somatic	3.06±2.84	4.2±2.5	3.13±2.52	0.15	0.99
Psychological	1.81±2.37	2.67±2.77	2.74±2.60	0.32	0.3
Urogenital	1.55±2.25	1.57±1.65	1.49±1.83	0.99	0.99
Total score	6.42±6.33	8.4±5.34	7.36±5.45	0.27	0.77

Notes: Results are presented as mean ± SD. P-value is significant when <0.05.

** P-values were based on post hoc test.

Abbreviations: MRS, Menopause Rating Scale; SD, standard deviation; ANOVA, analysis of variance.

Figure 1 Quality-of-life changes with aging.

Abbreviation: MRS, Menopause Rating Scale.

Table 6 Relationship between smoking and exercise and MRS quality-of-life score

	Mean total score	P-values
Smoking
Current	4	0.82
Past	7
Never	7.59±5.71
Exercise (times/week)
>5	9.44±5.66	0.49
3–5	5.75±3.86
<3	7.46±5.55

Note: P-values were based on ANOVA.

Abbreviations: MRS, Menopause Rating Scale; ANOVA, analysis of variance.

Table 7 Effect of BMI on MRS quality-of-life scores

Subscales	BMI				P-values*	Significant difference**
	Underweight	Normal weight	Overweight	Obese
Somatic	5.5±7.78	2.47±2.04	4.10±2.61	4.17±2.71	0.007	Normal weight vs overweight, P-value =0.013 Normal weight vs obesity, P-value =0.047
Psychological	6.5±7.78	1.58±1.694	2.96±2.85	2.71±2.59	0.008	Normal weight vs underweight, P-value =0.04 Normal weight vs overweight, P-value =0.048
Urogenital	1±1.41	1.49±1.91	1.72±1.89	1.29±1.80	0.783	–
Total score	13±16.97	5.53±4.43	8.78±5.94	8.17±5.12	0.017	Normal weight vs overweight, P-value =0.027

Notes: Results are presented as mean ± SD. All P-values are significant if <0.05.

* P-values were based on ANOVA.

** P-values were based on post hoc tests. Bold values represent statistically significant values.

Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; MRS, Menopause Rating Scale; SD, standard deviation; ANOVA, analysis of variance.