Sexual and psychological symptoms in the climacteric years.
OBJECTIVE
To provide epidemiological data about psychological and sexual functioning during menopausal transition in a large Italian non-clinical sample, and to investigate their correlation with life events.


METHODS
The study design was a cross-sectional postal survey of a menopausal sample of women recruited from the General Registry Office in Ferrara's province. The sample was composed of four thousand and seventy-three women; they were sent a questionnaire designed on the basis of the Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ). Together with the WHQ, the subjects filled out a personal file to define social status, cultural level, family's characteristics, recent menstrual cycles, gynaecological history and operations, drug assumption, life events in the last year, and lifetime depression.


RESULTS
One thousand three hundred and forty-five women provided usable questionnaires. Factor analysis resulted in eight clusters: somatic symptoms, depressive symptoms, depressed mood with anxiety symptoms, cognitive difficulties, anxiety, sexual functioning, vasomotor symptoms and sleep problems. Mood and sexual function were impaired through the menopausal transition, with depressive and sexual symptoms being higher in the post-menopausal group compared to the pre-menopausal one. Therefore, the correlation between the two was greater in the pre- and peri-menopausal period.


CONCLUSIONS
Depressive and sexual symptoms presented greater severity in the post-menopausal group. Both clusters of symptoms were strongly associated with life events. The parallel course of the two clusters could be related with a common pathoplastic action of life events, both on sexual symptoms and on depressive symptoms, occurring right at the time that a woman has to face the transition into menopause.
Amore
Mario
M
Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Sezione di Psichiatria, Università di Parma, p. le Matteotti 9, 43100 Parma, Italy. mario.amore@unipr.it
Di Donato
Pietro
P
Berti
Annalisa
A
Palareti
Aldopaolo
A
Chirico
Carla
C
Papalini
Alessandro
A
Zucchini
Stefano
S
D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D047648:Perimenopause / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000453:epidemiology; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology; D012803:Sick Role; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires