Qunyan Xu

Examining the relationship between subjective sleep disturbance and menopause: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between menopausal stages and sleep disturbance reported using subjective methods. Secondary aims included examining the influence of culture/ethnicity on the relationship between menopausal stages and sleep disturbance. MethodsMultiple electronic databases were searched from the first available year to November 2013, and a manual search of the reference lists of review articles identified was also conducted. Twenty-four studies with a total of 63,542 midlife women were identified, coded, and analyzed. ResultsThe crude and adjusted odds of experiencing sleep disturbance were small but statistically significant for perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, using premenopause as the reference group. The ethnicity of the samples influenced effect sizes; Asian and white women both experienced an increased rate of sleep disturbance at the perimenopausal and postmenopausal stages compared with the premenopausal stage, whereas Hispanic women experienced no change in sleep disturbance across the menopausal transition. ConclusionsThe prevalence of sleep disturbance is higher in perimenopausal, postmenopausal, and surgical menopausal women than in premenopausal women. There is an independent relationship between menopausal stages and sleep disturbance beyond the effects of aging and other confounders, although the magnitude of the relationship is small. Culture, ethnicity, or both might affect the levels of sleep disturbance at various menopausal stages.

A Longitudinal Study of the Relationship Between Lifestyle and Mental Health Among Midlife and Older Women in Australia: Findings From the Healthy Aging of Women Study

We investigated the temporal relationship between lifestyle and mental health among 564 midlife women. The mental health measured included anxiety, depression, and mental well-being; the lifestyle measures included body mass index (BMI), exercise, smoking, alcohol use, and caffeine consumption. We found that BMI was positively related with mental well-being (r = .316, p = .009); smokers had lower mental well-being than nonsmokers (β = 6.725, p = .006), and noncaffeine drinkers had higher mental well-being (β = 5, p = .023). Past alcohol-drinkers had less anxiety than nondrinkers (β = 1.135, p = .04). Therefore, lifestyle is predictive of mental health among midlife and older women.

A systematic review of the longitudinal relationships between subjective sleep disturbance and menopausal stage

Sleep disturbance is a common complaint for women going through the menopausal transition. A previous systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies showed a small but significant relationship between self-reported sleep disturbance and menopausal stage and highlighted a possible influence of culture. However, the longitudinal relationship between self-reported sleep disturbance and menopausal transition has not been explored. This paper aimed to review literature on the longitudinal relationship between self-reported sleep disturbance and menopausal transition among community dwelling midlife women. Multiple electronic databases were systematically searched. Literature published prior to 2013 was reviewed. A narrative synthesis was used to analyse the results due to high level of heterogeneity across the included studies. Overall, review of eligible studies showed a small increased risk of self-reported sleep disturbance as women go through the menopausal transition after adjustment of potential confounders. Although the methodological quality of the majority of included studies was classified as high, the impact of culture on this relationship could not be explored, as all of the included studies were conducted in western countries. Like vasomotor symptoms, self-reported sleep disturbance is one of the core menopausal symptoms. Management strategies should be put in place to help women manage sleep disturbance to prevent complications and to improve health related quality of life.

Exploring Sleep Quality and Related Factors in Chinese Midlife Women

We investigated the percentage of women with poor sleep quality and its related factors among mainland Chinese women. Sleep quality and menopausal status were self-reported. We explored the contribution of possible risk factors, including sociodemographic characteristics, comorbidities, lifestyle, psychological status, stressful life events, and vasomotor symptoms. We found that 38.6% of midlife Chinese women were poor sleepers. This percentage was higher in comparison with women from other Asian countries. Our multiple logistic regression showed that anxiety, comorbidities, perceived stress, and vasomotor symptoms were risk factors for poor sleep quality.