OBJECTIVES: to characterize the quality of life of climacteric women residing in the South region by menopausal status. METHODS: two hundred and thirty-six women aged between 40 and 65 were interviewed during a health fair held in March 2005 in a city in the South of Brazil. Their quality of life was assessed using the Brazilian version of the Menopause Rating Scale. RESULTS: of those interviewed, 133 were pre-menopausal and 103 post-menopausal. Moderate and severe climacteric symptoms were reported by 37.6% and 24.0% of the former, respectively, while 36.9% and 39.4% of the post-menopausal women reported moderate and severe symptoms, respectively. There were no differences between the two groups studied in terms of overall scores on the quality of life scale (p=0.12), although the pre-menopausal group reported more psychological symptoms (p=0.05) and the post-menopausal group more somatic-vegetative (p<0.01) and urinogenital (p=0.01) symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: quality of life was not influenced by menopausal status among the women covered by this study. The greater severity of somatic-vegetative symptoms in the post-menopausal group is probably due to the greater likelihood of hypoestrogenism at this stage in life, which may lead to vasomotor symptoms and urinogenital atrophy. The greater severity of psychological symptoms among pre-menopausal women may be related to a higher level of concern regarding menopause and its possible health implications.
Climacteric; Menopause; Quality of life
