Catarina Ramos

Representations and perceived consequences of menopause by peri- and post-menopausal portuguese women: a qualitative research.

Our aim in conducting this study is to describe the representations and perceived consequences of menopause, elicited through a semistructured interview with 36 Portuguese women, in peri- and post-menopause. The most prevalent response of the interviewed women was to see menopause as a normal/neutral phase of their life cycle (28.3%). Menses’ cessation (58.7%) was identified as the most prevalent positive consequence of menopause, and a range of psychological changes (18.3%) was the most mentioned negative consequence. Health care providers awareness of womens attitudes will allow them to communicate more effectively and to reinforce womens positive attitudes.

Predictors of weight variation and weight gain in peri- and post-menopausal women

This research encompasses a community sample of 497 women in peri- and post-menopause and uses structural equation modelling to investigate the structural models of weight variation and weight gain. Variables such as body shape concerns, depression, stress and life events are explored. Weight gain (from pre-menopause to current menopausal status) was observed in 69 per cent of participants. The predictors of weight gain were lower education level (β = −.146, p = .017), less or no physical exercise (β = −.111, p = .021), having a recent psychological problem (β = .191, p < .001), transition from peri- to post-menopause (β = .147, p = .013) and more frequent body shape concerns (β = .313, p < .001). Prevention of weight gain in pre-menopause is recommended; risk groups should be targeted considering the predictors of weight increase.

Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy for weight loss in midlife women: a controlled study with follow-up

Objective Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has proven to be effective in weight reduction. This study explores whether individual, 8-session CBT can promote weight loss in midlife women. Methods Anthropometric (weight, abdominal perimeter, and body mass index calculation), psychological (health-related and sexual quality of life, stress, anxiety, and depression), and behavioral measures (binge eating disorder and restrained, external, and emotional eating) were assessed at baseline (T1), posttreatment (T2), and 4-month follow-up (T3), for a total of 21 women at baseline; the CBT group (n = 11) and the control group (n = 10; waiting list) were compared. Results Statistically significant effects that were dependent on the intervention were observed on weight (F = 4.402; P = 0.035; ηp2 = 0.404; π = 0.652) and body mass index (F = 3.804; P = 0.050; ηp2 = 0.369; π = 0.585); furthermore, marginally significant effects were observed on external eating (F = 2.844; P = 0.095; ηp2 = 0.304; π = 0.461). At follow-up, women in the CBT group presented with lower weight, abdominal perimeter, body mass index, and external eating; higher health-related quality-of-life and restrained eating were also observed in this group. Most differences identified were at a marginally significant level. Moreover, at follow-up, none of the participants of the CBT group met the criteria for binge eating disorder, whereas the number of women with binge eating disorder in the control group remained the same through all three assessments. Conclusion An effective, though small, weight loss was achieved. Changes in quality of life were also observed. Moreover, changes in external eating behavior were successful.

Menopause Symptoms' Predictors: The Influence of Lifestyle, Health- and Menopause-Related, and Sociodemographic Characteristics

This research explores a causal model of menopausal symptoms in peri- and postmenopausal women. A community sample of 710 women was assessed regarding menopausal symptoms, and sociodemographic, health- and menopause-related, and lifestyle characteristics. Structural equation modelling was used. Menopausal status predicted skin/facial hair changes (β = .156; p <.001), vasomotor (β = .122; p <.001) and sexual symptoms (β = .158; p <.001). Age was significantly associated with cognitive impairment (β = .087; p = .003), aches/pain (β = .072; p = .006), urinary (β = .115; p = .004) and also sexual symptoms (β = .107; p = .021). Several menopausal symptoms are predicted, not only by menopausal status, but also by age progression, among other variables; this should be considered in the context of a well-adapted menopausal transition.

Menopause Symptoms’ Severity Inventory (MSSI-38): assessing the frequency and intensity of symptoms

ABSTRACT Objectives Menopausal instruments usually assess the frequency or intensity of symptoms. The present study develops and validates an inventory to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms through the measurement of their frequency and intensity, and explores the differences between women with different menopausal status. Methods A community sample of 992 Portuguese women in pre-, peri- and postmenopause completed the proposed inventory with 47 items. Factor exploratory and confirmatory analyses, and comparative statistics for paired and independent samples, were applied using PASW Statistics v.19 and AMOS v.18 software. Results The final structure with 38 items organized in 12 factors showed overall good psychometric properties (in terms of factor analysis, convergent, discriminant and criterion validity, as well as regarding reliability, sensitivity, and measure invariance in two different and independent samples). The Wilcoxon test confirmed significant differences between frequency and intensity of symptoms. Moreover, peri- and postmenopausal women in this community sample presented low symptom severity (ranging from 0.4 to 1.4 in a scale from 0 to 4). Although postmenopausal participants presented higher levels (when compared with their perimenopausal counterparts), the two groups only diverged significantly in some physical symptoms (namely, aches and pain, vasomotor symptoms, numbness, skin and facial hair changes, urinary and sexual symptoms). Conclusion This research emphasizes that severity measurement of symptoms should account for both frequency and intensity. Moreover, it contributes a fully validated 12-dimenson inventory for menopausal symptoms, the Menopause Symptoms’ Severity Inventory-38. Regarding differences between peri- and postmenopausal women, the increment in symptoms only happens in physical symptoms, although the severity levels are not exacerbated.

Hot Flushes and Night Sweats in Midlife: Why do Some Women Have Them and Others do Not?

This study investigated what predicts the occurrence of hot flushes (HF) and night sweats (NS). A community sample of 992 women (42-60 years) answered a questionnaire to collect socio-demographic, health and menopause-related, as well as lifestyle information. Depressive mood and stress, as well as HF and NS (in terms of presence, frequency and intensity), were also assessed. Structural equation modelling was used to build a structural model to predict the occurrence of both vasomotor symptoms. Results: Stress predicted NS (β =.154; p=.006), whereas depressive mood was linked to the occurrence of HFs (β =.149; p=.006). Being peri-menopausal and post-menopausal, among several other characteristics, were also significant predictors of the occurrence of both HF and NS. This study supports a distinguished influence of stress and depressive mood in NS and HF respectively, probably due to the nature of psychological symptoms. Moreover, significant associations between vasomotor symptoms and socio-demographic, health and menopause-related characteristics, and alcohol were confirmed.

The effectiveness of a group intervention to facilitate posttraumatic growth among women with breast cancer

This longitudinal study tested the effectiveness of a group intervention designed to facilitate posttraumatic growth (PTG).

P3.12 Frequency and distribution of chlamydia trachomatis infection among young pregnant women in argentina

Introduction: Chlamydia trachomatis causes the most frequent bacterial Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) in the world. Previous results showed that in Buenos Aires, Argentina, adolescent pregnant women have an unusually high prevalence of this infection. Our aim was to define the frequency of C. trachomatis infection among pregnant women, and to describe its association pattern. Methods Starting on May 2016, voluntary participation for this study was offered to every pregnant woman attending the Hospital Materno Infantil “Ana Goitia” (Avellaneda, Buenos Aires) during her routine pregnancy control. Those who accepted and signed the Informed Consent form were enrolled. Cervico-vaginal lavage and first catch urine samples were collected. Detection of Chlamydia trachomatis was performed using Real Time PCR. This preliminary report shows the results for the first four months of a two years study, which is still ongoing. Results One hundred and nineteen pregnant women aged between 14 and 39 years-old were enrolled, with a mean age of 22.85 years-old. Sixty four (53.78%) of them were younger than 22 years-old. C. trachomatis infection was detected on 22 (18.49%) women. The majority of the chlamydia infected patients (76.19%) were 21 years-old or less, which is statistically significant related to the age distribution of the whole analysed group OR: 3,27 (1.11–9.62) p<0.05. Eleven out of 16 C . trachomatis infected patients (68.75%) were associated to lack of inflammatory reaction on vaginal content. Conclusion The frequency of Chlamydia trachomatis infection on the analysed group was high, and was also significantly associated to the age of the studied women, being higher on women younger than 21 years-old (25%) than on the older ones (9.09%). This evidence supports the need of assessing the addition of the detection of C. trachomatis infection to routine pregnancy control of younger women in Argentina.