Graduate Institute of Nursing, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
J Nurs Res. 2012 Sep;20(3):208-18. doi: 10.1097/jnr.0b013e318265619b.
Menopausal experience differs among women with different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and may impact quality of life. Some women with severe menopausal symptoms seek medical help to alleviate menopause-related symptoms.
This study examined the demographic characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of Taiwanese women experiencing menopausal symptoms and examined associations between menopausal symptoms and, respectively, poor HRQOL and healthcare resource utilization.
This cross-sectional study used data from the 2005 National Health Interview Survey in Taiwan, which used a multistaged stratified systematic sampling scheme. A total of 4,437 women aged 35-64 years were analyzed. We used multivariable logistic regression models to identify variables significantly and independently associated with the presence of menopausal symptoms. We also used the model to assess the odds of poor HRQOL and healthcare resource utilization in women with menopausal symptoms compared with those without.
Eight hundred and forty-six women (19.1%) reported experiencing menopausal symptoms. Age, religion, smoking, exercise, and comorbidity were independently associated with the presence of such symptoms. The propensity score-adjusted odds ratio of poor physical HRQOL, poor mental HRQOL, use of outpatient, traditional Chinese medicine and emergency room services, and hospitalization for women with menopausal symptoms were 1.85 (95% CI [1.54, 2.21]), 1.66 (95% CI [1.40, 1.97]), 1.39 (95% CI [1.18, 1.63]), 1.73 (95% CI [1.37, 2.18]), 1.44 (95% CI [1.15, 1.81]), and 1.36 (95% CI [1.02, 1.81]), respectively, compared with those without symptoms.
Nearly one fifth of women aged 35-64 years in Taiwan experience menopausal symptoms. The presence of menopausal symptoms increases the likelihood of poor HRQOL and healthcare resource utilization even after controlling for possible confounders.
不同文化和种族背景的女性绝经体验不同，可能会影响生活质量。一些有严重绝经症状的女性会寻求医疗帮助来缓解与绝经相关的症状。
本研究调查了有绝经症状的台湾女性的人口统计学特征和与健康相关的生活质量（HRQOL），并分别考察了绝经症状与较差的 HRQOL 和医疗资源利用之间的关系。
本横断面研究使用了 2005 年台湾全国健康访谈调查的数据，该调查采用多阶段分层系统抽样方案。共分析了 4437 名 35-64 岁的女性。我们使用多变量逻辑回归模型来确定与绝经症状存在显著和独立相关的变量。我们还使用该模型评估了有绝经症状的女性与无绝经症状的女性相比，其较差的 HRQOL 和医疗资源利用的可能性。
846 名女性（19.1%）报告有绝经症状。年龄、宗教、吸烟、运动和合并症与绝经症状的存在独立相关。绝经症状女性较差的生理 HRQOL、较差的心理 HRQOL、门诊、中医和急诊服务的使用以及住院的倾向评分调整后比值比分别为 1.85（95%置信区间 [1.54, 2.21]）、1.66（95%置信区间 [1.40, 1.97]）、1.39（95%置信区间 [1.18, 1.63]）、1.73（95%置信区间 [1.37, 2.18]）、1.44（95%置信区间 [1.15, 1.81]）和 1.36（95%置信区间 [1.02, 1.81]），与无症状女性相比。
台湾 35-64 岁女性中近五分之一有绝经症状。即使控制了可能的混杂因素，绝经症状的存在也会增加较差的 HRQOL 和医疗资源利用的可能性。
