title: Menopause affects pain depending on pain type and characteristics.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Women are more affected than men by many chronic pain conditions, suggesting the effect of sex-related mechanisms in their occurrence. The role of gonadal hormones has been studied but with contrasting results depending on the pain syndrome, reproductive status, and hormone considered. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pain changes related to the menopausal transition period.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this observational study, postmenopausal women were asked to evaluate the presence of pain in their life during the premenopausal and postmenopausal periods and its modification with menopause.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred one women were enrolled and completed questionnaires on their sociodemographic status, pain characteristics, and evolution. The most common pain syndromes were headache (38%), osteoarticular pain (31%), and cervical/lumbar pain (21%). Pain was present before menopause in 66 women, ceased with menopause in 17, and started after menopause in 18. Data were used for cluster analysis, which allowed the division of participants into four groups. In the first, all women experienced headaches that disappeared or improved with menopause. The second group included osteoarticular pain; the pain improved in half of these women and remained stable in the other half. The third group had cervical/lumbar pain, which disappeared or improved with menopause in all. The fourth group presented different kinds of moderate pain, which worsened in all.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study provides preliminary data suggesting that menopause can affect pain depending on the painful condition experienced by the woman. This underlines the different interactions of menopause-related events with body structures involved in pain.
authors.affiliation: Interdepartmental Centre for Sexual Health Protection and Gynaecology and Physiopathology of Human Reproduction, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. cristina.meriggiola@unibo.it
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Meriggiola
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nanni
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bachiocco
authors.forename: Stellina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vodo
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Aloisi
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000503:physiopathology; D001416:Back Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D059350:Chronic Pain / Q000503:physiopathology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D005356:Fibromyalgia / Q000503:physiopathology; D006261:Headache / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017698:Postmenopause; D017697:Premenopause; D012008:Recurrence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires