Quality of life and menopause in women with physical disabilities.
OBJECTIVE
The goal of this cross-sectional study was to explore quality of life (QOL) in a sample of postmenopausal women with physical disabilities due to polio contracted in childhood. A structural equation model was used to confirm that menopause symptoms will have a minimal effect on QOL when disability-related variables are taken into account.


METHODS
A sample of 752 women who were postmenopausal completed a written survey. The structural equation model contained two measured predictors (age, severity of postpolio sequelae) and one latent predictor (menopause symptoms defined by four measured indicators). Functional status (defined by two measured indicators) was included as a mediator, with QOL (defined by three measured indicators) as the outcome.


RESULTS
The original model yielded acceptable fit indices (CFI = 0.96, RMSEA = 0.055) but resulted in a number of unexpected relationships that proved to be artifacts after model respecification. The respecified model yielded a nonsignificant chi-square value, which indicated no significant discrepancy between the proposed model and the observed data (chisquare = 18.5, df = 13, p = 0.138). All fit indices indicated a good fit: CFI = 0.997, NNFI = 0.987, chi-square/df = 1.43, and RMSEA = 0.024.


CONCLUSIONS
When the effects of postpolio sequelae and functional status are included in the structural equation model, only the psychological symptoms of menopause play a prominent role in explaining QOL in this sample. The clinical implications of these findings suggest that attention to psychological symptoms and an exclusive focus on the physical aspects of menopause to the exclusion of other midlife life stressors and influences on a woman's psychological well-being ignore the larger context of life in which they live. In particular, many women with disabilities may contend with additional or exacerbated stressors related to their disability.
Kalpakjian
Claire Z
CZ
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, USA. clairez@umich.edu
Lequerica
Anthony
A
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011051:Poliomyelitis / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health