Sedentary lifestyle may worsen menopausal symptoms

Middle-aged Hispanic women who lead a sedentary lifestyle report significantly worse menopausal symptoms compared with their more-active counterparts.

A sedentary lifestyle also was linked to depression, anxiety, insomnia and obesity, according to researchers.

Juan E. Blümel, MD, PhD, of the Universidad de Chile, and colleagues evaluated data from the REDLINC V study on 6,079 women from Latin America aged 40 to 59 years to assess links between sedentary lifestyle and severity of menopausal symptoms and obesity. Researchers defined sedentary lifestyle as fewer than three weekly 30-minute periods of physical activity. Participants were divided into two groups based on activity: sedentary (n = 3,886) and active (n = 2,193).

Throughout the whole study population, 59.7% reported anxiety, 55.5% had vasomotor symptoms, 46.5% had depressive symptoms, 43.6% had insomnia, 13.2% were using hormone therapy, 12.2% had severe menopausal symptoms and 11.5% were using hormonal contraceptives. Mean BMI was 26.4 kg/m²; 22.9% of participants had hypertension, 18.5% had obesity and 8.6% had diabetes.

Compared with the active group, the sedentary group had more menopausal symptoms and more menopausal symptoms defined as severe (P < .0001 for both); used HT and contraceptives less frequently (P < .05 for both); reported more depressive symptoms (P < .0001), greater anxiety (P < .0007) and more insomnia (P < .0001); had a greater mean waist circumference and higher prevalence of obesity (P < .0001 for both); and higher prevalence of diabetes (P < .04).

A sedentary lifestyle was associated with obesity (OR = 1.52; 95% CI, 1.32-1.76) and more severe menopausal symptoms, including insomnia and depressive mood (OR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1.06-1.53). A negative relationship was found between a sedentary lifestyle and having a stable partner (OR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.76-0.96), using HT (OR = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.64-0.87) and having a higher education level (OR = 0.66; 95% CI, 0.6-0.74).

“Regular physical activity reduces the risk of breast and colon cancer, dementia, heart attacks, stroke, depression; loss of lean muscle mass, and bone loss and improves immune system function,” JoAnn V. Pinkerton, MD, NCMP, executive director of the North American Menopause Society, said in a press release. “One study showed that just 1 hour of walking daily cut the risk of obesity by 24%. Fewer hot flashes, fewer health risks, increased well-being — who doesn’t want these benefits?” – by Amber Cox

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.

Published by:

Sources/Disclosures

Collapse

Source: Blümel JE, et al. Menopause. 2016;doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000575.