Association of mindfulness and stress with menopausal symptoms in midlife women

Abstract

Purpose: Midlife women frequently experience stress and menopausal symptoms. Mindfulness is thought to mitigate stress by avoiding emotional reactivity and ruminative thinking. We sought to assess the association of mindfulness and stress on menopausal symptoms among midlife women.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, women aged 40–65 years completed questionnaires, including the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4), and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Linear regression was used to assess the impact of mindfulness and stress on menopausal symptoms with use of univariate and multivariable analyses, adjusting for patient characteristics.

Results: In this cohort of 1744 midlife women, higher mindfulness (MAAS) and lower stress (PSS-4) scores correlated independently with lower menopausal symptom (MRS) scores. On multivariable analysis, a significant interaction effect was observed between the MAAS and PSS-4 on the MRS, such that with higher PSS-4 scores, the magnitude of association between the MAAS and lower MRS scores was larger.

Conclusion: Among midlife women, higher mindfulness and lower stress correlated with lower menopausal symptom scores independently. Among women experiencing more stress, the magnitude of association between mindfulness and lower menopausal symptom scores was greater, largely driven by psychological subdomain scores. Mindfulness may mitigate menopausal symptoms among midlife women.

摘要

目的：中年妇女经常经历压力和围绝经期症状。正念减压是通过避免情绪反应和沉思来减轻压力。我们试图评估专注力与压力对中年妇女围绝经期症状之间的关系。

材料与方法：在这个横断面研究中, 40-65岁女性完成问卷调查, 包括围绝经期量表（MRS）、感知压力量表（PSS-4）及专注意识量表（MAAS）。采用线性回归的方法对其影响进行了评价, 同时调整了患者特点后再利用单因素和多因素分析专注力和压力与围绝经期症状的关系。

结果：在1744名中年女性患者中, 高专注力意识评分和低压力评分与低的围绝经期症状评分独立相关。多因素分析表明, MAAS与PSS-4对MRS的有明显的影响。比如PSS-4评分较高, MAAS与低MRS评分的相关性较大。

结论：在中年妇女中, 较高的专注力和较低的压力与较低的围绝经期症状评分独立相关。在压力大的女性中, 专注力与低围绝经期症状评分关联度更高, 这主要是与心理评分有关。专注力可能会减轻中年妇女的围绝经期症状。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• menopause symptoms
• midlife women
• mindfulness
• stress

Conflict of interest

S.S.F. is a consultant for Mithra Pharmaceuticals SA and Procter & Gamble, Corp. On behalf of all authors, R.S. certifies that the authors have no affiliation with, or financial involvement in, any organization or entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript (e.g. employment, consultant services, stock ownership, honoraria). The spouse of R.S. is owner of the Global Center for Resiliency and Wellbeing.

Additional information

Funding

Any financial project support of this research is identified in the manuscript.