HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

Menopause, though a common phase in a woman's life, brings along a set of specific symptoms that vary in intensity during the transition. While it's a shared experience, the severity of these symptoms can greatly differ. Researchers are actively investigating the various factors that play a role in influencing the intensity of menopausal symptoms.

A recent study, featured in Menopause: The Journal of the Menopause Society, has brought to light a correlation between elevated stress levels, the presence of anxiety or depression, and occurrences of constipation with more pronounced menopausal symptoms. There's a growing interest in delving deeper into the connections between these factors through future research.

The National Institute on Aging defines menopause as “a point in time 12 months after a woman’s last period.” The time leading up to this phase is often referred to as the ‘menopause transition’ or ‘perimenopause’. These stages are associated with a range of symptoms that can be quite uncomfortable and significantly impact a woman's quality of life. They encompass mood swings, joint discomfort, hot flashes, and sleep disturbances, among others. Collectively, these symptoms are often referred to as menopausal symptoms.

Dr. Sherry Ross, an OB/GYN and Women's Health Expert at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA, elaborated on menopausal symptoms. She noted, “The most common symptoms of menopause include irregular periods, hot flashes, sweating, insomnia, depression, anxiety, feeling apprehensive, weight gain or loss, fatigue, poor concentration, memory loss, low sex drive, vaginal dryness, and heart palpitations. All of these disruptive symptoms affect a person’s quality of life and have become a major challenge for the majority of people going through this normal hormonal cycle. Lack of professional guidance and treatment from healthcare professionals is one of the major roadblocks for millions of people suffering from these common debilitating symptoms.”

The intensity and frequency of these symptoms vary considerably among individuals, prompting researchers to explore the factors that might influence menopausal symptoms.

The recent study aimed to “evaluate whether there is a relationship between menopausal symptoms, subjectively perceived stress, and reported gastrointestinal symptoms in midlife women.”

This cross-sectional study involved 693 participants, all around the age of fifty, encompassing both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Excluded from the study were women who had undergone hysterectomies and those currently using hormonal contraceptives.

To assess menopausal symptoms, participants completed the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL). This comprehensive questionnaire addressed various aspects of menopause-related symptoms and their impact on the participants' lives. Higher scores indicated a more significant decline in quality of life due to menopausal symptoms.

Participants also responded to a questionnaire gauging their perceived stress levels and answered inquiries concerning their health, obstetric and gynaecological history, and specific gastrointestinal symptoms. The study findings regarding gastrointestinal health indicated that women experiencing constipation reported more severe menopausal symptoms. The consistency of stools and the frequency of bowel movements seemed to correlate with a person's gut microbiota.

Dr. Kecia Gaither, MPH, MS, MBA, FACOG, a double board-certified OB/GYN and Maternal Foetal Medicine specialist, and Director of Perinatal Services/Maternal Foetal Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln in the Bronx, shared her insights on the study. “Scientists are coming to recognize that microbes play important roles in health; vaginal microbiomes are important to neonatal health, and likewise gut microbiomes impact adult health. The gut is impacted by a multitude of factors– food consumed, medications taken, and the hormonal milieu– among other intrinsic and extrinsic influences. Gut microbiomes and its effect on health is a novel and burgeoning arena for research– which needs further information. The study proposed a great foundation on which to explore the relationship between hormonal fluctuations impacting the gut microbiome–and the physiologic and metabolic bodily changes that result from such.”

It's essential to acknowledge certain limitations of this study. The findings relied on self-reports from participants, which might not always yield the most precise measurements. Additionally, the study couldn't establish a causal link between the factors under examination. The fact that all participants completed the survey online could introduce bias into the sample.

Researchers acknowledged the potential for sample bias, given the study's location in an urban area and the higher education levels of most participants. Therefore, generalising the findings might be challenging. Cultural attitudes toward menopause could also influence menopausal symptoms, emphasising the importance of including participants from diverse backgrounds in future studies.

This study exclusively focused on ethnically Lithuanian women, limiting the applicability of the results. Researchers recommended further research with long-term follow-up to explore the relationship between the studied factors in greater depth.

In conclusion, this study underscores the intricate interplay of factors related to menopausal symptoms. Dr. Gaither expressed optimism that future research into the gut microbiome might offer insights into improving menopausal symptoms, stating “To narrow the field to see if there was a similarity of a specific protein or gene sequence that despite exogenous factors like environment, diet, ethnicity, comorbidities was impacted by menopausal hormonal decline — and as such produced a host of clinical symptomatology.”

“To find such within analysing the gut microbiome, perhaps treatment of menopausal symptoms might reflect the need for supplementation of that particular deficient protein– ultimately working to reverse symptoms associated with menopause.”

“Further research along this line is needed– a breakthrough of sorts would change the lives and well-being of women –globally– who are impacted by symptoms of menopause.” Dr. Gaither added.

This article was brought to you by HealthPlan, leaders in private health insurance in Spain.

Source: Medical News Today