• Juan E Blümel, Peter Chedraui, German Baron, Emma Belzares, Ascanio Bencosme, Andres Calle, Luis Danckers, Maria T Espinoza, Daniel Flores, Gustavo Gomez, Jose A Hernandez-Bueno, Humberto Izaguirre, Patricia Leon-Leon, Selva Lima, Edward Mezones-Holguin, Alvaro Monterrosa, Desiree Mostajo, Daysi Navarro, Eliana Ojeda, William Onatra, Monique Royer, Edwin Soto, Konstantinos Tserotas, and Maria S Vallejo.
• Collaborative Group for Research of the Climacteric in Latin America (REDLINC).
• Maturitas. 2013 May 1; 75 (1): 94-100.

BackgroundMuscle and joint aches (MJA) are frequently observed among menopausal women. They impair quality of life and are a burden to the healthcare system.ObjectiveTo analyze the relation between MJA and several variables related to the menopause.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 8373 healthy women aged 40-59 years, accompanying patients to healthcare centers in 18 cities of 12 Latin American countries, were asked to fill out the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and a questionnaire containing personal data.ResultsMean age of the whole sample was 49.1±5.7 years, 48.6% were postmenopausal and 14.7% used hormone therapy (HT). A 63.0% of them presented MJA, with a 15.6% being scored as severe to very severe according to the MRS (scores 3 or 4). Logistic regression model determined that vasomotor symptoms (OR: 6.16; 95% CI, 5.25-7.24), premature menopause (OR: 1.58; 95% CI, 1.02-2.45), postmenopausal status (OR: 1.43; 95% CI, 1.20-1.69), psychiatric consultation (OR: 1.93; 95% CI, 1.60-2.32) and the use of psychotropic drugs (OR: 1.35; 95% CI, 1.08-1.69) were significantly related to the presence of severe-very severe MJA. Other significant variables included: age, tobacco consumption and lower education. Self perception of healthiness (OR: 0.49; 95% CI, 0.41-0.59), private healthcare access (OR: 0.77; 95% CI, 0.67-0.88) and HT use (OR: 0.75; 95% CI, 0.62-0.91) were significantly related to a lower risk for the presence of severe-very severe MJA.ConclusionIn this large mid-aged sample the prevalence of MJA was high, which was significantly associated to menopausal variables, especially vasomotor symptoms. This association may suggest a potential role of mid-life female hormonal changes in the pathogenesis of MJA.Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

17 keywords...

hide…