[Quality of life and estrogen therapy. Study of 716 women between 40 and 70 years of age].

As their ovarial functions fade out, quite a number of women experience a deterioration in their quality of life. How often can one expect this to happen? Does it occur more frequently if the menopause sets in earlier, than if its onset is later in life? Is the quality of life affected more negatively during the first few years of the menopause-eg by vegetative disorders-than in later years? Is there a difference in the quality of life between postmenopausal women with and without oestrogen therapy? How often and with which women is an improved quality of life to be expected by premenopausal and postmenopausal oestrogen substitution [9,10]? Are there any "laws" governing these phenomena, or do individual factors determine them?