Assessment of Quality of Life in Menopause among Women Who had been Pregnant and gave Birth Compared to Nulliparous Women

With the increase in life expectancy, one-third of a woman's life is related to her post-menopausal life. It is known that 30 to 40% of women experience moderate to severe climacteric symptoms during the perimenopause or in the first postmenopausal years. Gender steroid levels, including endogenous estrogens, are transiently increased in pregnancy. However, it has not been investigated whether this increase, due to parity, has an impact on the later quality of life in menopause. Purpose: The purpose of the study was the self-assessment of the quality of life of menopausal women in correlation with their parity. Sample & Method: The study was conducted on a sample of 120 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women for one year, in the gynecological outpatient clinic of the University Hospital in Crete. Data was collected by using questionnaires: The Menopause Quality of Life questionnaire (MENQOL) and HFRS (Hot Flush Rating Scale), in combination with somatometric and socio-demographic data, including parity. Results: The analysis of the MENQOL questionnaire data showed that nulliparas experienced more severe menopausal symptoms than women who gave birth with statistical significance p=0.024. Additionally, the results of the evaluation of the frequency of vasomotor symptoms, with HFRS, showed that the higher the parity was, the lower the hot flashes (p= 0.027). Respectively, there was a difference in psychological (p= 0.003) and sexual (p= 0.017) symptoms between nulliparous women and those who became pregnant, as the former experienced more severe discomfort. Finally, obesity emerged as an independent risk factor for climacteric symptoms. Conclusions: Childbearing during a woman's reproductive life appears to have a positive impact on her subsequent quality of life during menopause, reducing the discomfort resulting from vasomoto, psychological and sexual symptoms.