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Munhoz LO et al.
484 Rev Assoc Med Bras 2014; 60(5):484-489
Original Article
How to evaluate quality of life in overweight and obese women
during climacterium?
Livia Oliveira Munhoz1*, Isabel Cristina Esposito Sorpreso2, Maria Cristina Caceres Nogueira3, Ricardo dos Santos
Simões4, José Maria Soares Junior5, Edmund Chada Baracat 6
1Resident in Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
2Adjunct Professor in Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
3Collaborating Physician in the Division of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
4Assistant Physician Doctorate student in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
5Associate Professor in the Division of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
6Full Professor in the Division of Gynecology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Summary
Division of Gynecology, Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of
Medicine at University of São Paulo
Article received: 7/15/2014
Approved for publication: 7/23/2014
*Correspondence:
Instituto Central do Hospital das
Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da
Universidade de São Paulo,
Address: Av. Dr. Enéas de Carvalho Aguiar,
255, 10o andar
Cerqueira César,
Postal Code: 05403-000
São Paulo, SP – Brazil
Conflict of interest: none
Objective: identifying the instruments used to measure quality of life during me-
nopausal transition and post-menopause in women with obesity or overweight.
Methods: a systematic search using the Embase, Pubmed and Cochrane data-
bases, and the following key-words: menopause/climacteric, quality of life, over-
weight/obesity. Nineteen papers that fulfilled the including criteria were found.
Results: eighteen studies using generic health questionnaires (global quality of
life) were identified, six of them were specific for menopause and one specific for
obesity. Eleven studies used generic questionnaires, while only eight question-
naires were specific for menopause.
Conclusion: there was no consensus in the literature about the use of quality
of life questionnaires in women with overweight and obesity in climacterium,
which makes de comparison and reproducibility of the results difficult. This is
an alert about the need for standardization to better evaluate this specific po-
pulation.
Keywords: menopause, climacteric, overweight, obesity, quality of life.
Introduction
Obesity is a multifactorial disease, epidemic in nature,
which according to the World Health Organization af-
fects over 300 million adults worldwide. Overweight in-
dividuals correspond to about one billion adults.1 The
body mass index (BMI) of women seems to reach its
highest values ​between 50 and 59 years, a period that of-
ten coincides with menopause.2
This period is characterized by body aging linked to
progressive hypoestrogenism, which not only triggers
health implications, but is also associated with changes
in women’s lives. Characteristic symptoms may be obser-
ved, including vasomotor, psychological, urogenital, sleep
disturbances and sexual dysfunction, as well as difficul-
ties in emotional and social sphere. 3-6 The quality of life
in postmenopausal women is a major subject, because its
results can help define therapeutic approaches and pro-
mote healthier aging for females, with improved quality
of life.4,5,7
Research shows associations among obesity, meno-
pausal symptoms and worse quality of life.5,8-17 To con-
duct this evaluation, various types of questionnaires are
used, both generic - analyzing overall quality of life for
any population - and specific questionnaires to analyze
the quality of life in the transition to menopause and
postmenopause.18-21
The objective of this work is to identify the instru-
ments used to measure the quality of life of overweight
and obese women in climacteric age (during the transi-