[Prevalence of mental disorders and assessment of quality of life in the climaterium].
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate prevalence of mental distress and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in climacteric women.


METHODS
A total of 191 women (45 to 65 years of age) were included in this cross-sectional study. A questionnaire about personal information, habits/health, and demographic data was administered in association with the two validated instruments to measure HRQoL, SF-36, Medical Outcomes Study 36-item Short-Form Health Survey and to estimate prevalence of common mental distress (20-item SRQ, Self Reporting Questionnaire).


RESULTS
By using the 20-item SRQ for assessing mental distress, and establishing a cut-off level of at least 8 items, 39.8% of the women were categorized as having mental distress. A higher prevalence of mental distress and lower SF-36 scores were found in women in the perimenopause, particularly those with poor education and low family income who did not work outside the home. All SF-36 domains were significantly lower in women with mental distress than those in women without mental distress.


CONCLUSIONS
Prevalence of mental distress is high in this sample of climacteric women and is associated with negative repercussions on the quality of life. This shows that psychosocial factors are significantly involved and psychological support strategies should be instituted in the form of health policies for climacteric women.
Galvão
Lílian Lira Lisboa Fagundes
LL
Programa de pós-graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN.
Farias
Maria Cláudia Saldanha
MC
de Azevedo
Paulo Roberto Medeiros
PR
Vilar
Maria José Pereira
MJ
de Azevedo
George Dantas
GD
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002979:Climacteric / Q000523:psychology*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008603:Mental Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D016387:Women's Health