Race, menopause, health-related quality of life, and psychological well-being in obese women.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) in African-American (AA) and white (W) obese women.


METHODS
Participants were 145 obese women (80 AA and 65 W; 87 premenopausal and 58 postmenopausal) who completed the Medical Outcomes Study short form, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Life Distress Inventory, the Satisfaction With Life Scale, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale before entering a weight-loss study. The mean age of the subjects was 46.3 +/- 11.1 years and the mean body mass index was 35.2 +/- 4.2 kg/m(2).


RESULTS
Although AA women were slightly heavier (95.3 +/- 10.3 kg vs. 91.5 +/- 11.6 kg, p < 0.05) and less educated (14.2 +/- 3.7 years vs. 15.7 +/- 3.7 years, p < 0.05) than the W women in the sample, there was no difference between the two ethnic groups in any of the reported HR-QOL variables. Menopausal status had a significant effect on HR-QOL, with premenopausal women being more distressed (p = 0.002), having more limitations in social activity (p = 0.007), and having less vitality (p < 0.001) than the postmenopausal women. This was especially true in the AA women.


CONCLUSIONS
These data show no difference in HR-QOL between AA and W obese women and suggest that menopausal status may have an impact on HR-QOL, especially in AA women.
Laferrère
Blandine
B
New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center, New York 10025, USA. BBL14@columbia.edu
Zhu
ShanKuan
S
Clarkson
Jennifer R
JR
Yoshioka
Marianne R M
MR
Krauskopf
Katherine
K
Thornton
John C
JC
Pi-Sunyer
F Xavier
FX
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D044383:Black People; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D017698:Postmenopause; D017697:Premenopause; D011788:Quality of Life; D012649:Self Concept; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People; D001741:Black or African American