Quality of life in women with premature ovarian failure

Abstract

A cross-sectional and case–control study with a matching for age was performed to evaluate quality of life in 58 women with a diagnosis of premature ovarian failure (POF) and 58 women with normal ovarian function paired for age (±2 years) (control group). In both groups were excluded women with chronic diseases and iatrogenic or genetic causes. Quality of life was evaluated using the WHOQOL-BREF. Although there were no statistically significant differences in quality of life in general between the two groups, there were statistically significant differences in mean scores in the physical health [61.3 ± 18.0 and 72.8 ± 16.4 for the POF and control groups, respectively (p < 0.0001)] and psychological domains [64.2 ± 16.7 and 69.3 ± 14.1, respectively (p = 0.0455)]. Having POF represented an approximately 2.5-fold greater risk of scoring poorly in the physical health and psychological domains. No statistically significant differences were found between the groups with respect to the social relationships or environment domains or for overall health. Women with POF have more difficulty with respect to their physical health and psychological aspects, indicating a need to provide adequate psychosocial and clinical support for these women to minimize the repercussion of this diagnosis on their activities and quality of life.

Keywords:

• Quality of life
• premature ovarian failure
• WHOQOL-BREF
• health
• physical health domain
• psychological domain
• menopause

Acknowledgements

This study was partially supported by a grant from CAPES, Ministry of Education, Brazil. The authors gratefully acknowledge Sirlei Morais for collaborating in the statistical analysis.