title: The experience of perimenopausal distress: examining the role of anxiety and anxiety sensitivity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The hormonal changes that occur in perimenopause can result in distress for a significant proportion of women years before reaching menopause. Previous studies have suggested that various biopsychosocial characteristics and personality traits contribute to more intense reactions to these hormonal changes. In the present study, we examined the contribution of trait anxiety and anxiety sensitivity in predicting the experience of perimenopausal distress in pre- and early perimenopausal women while controlling for some menstrual experiences.
  
  
  METHODS
  A sample of 660 women aged 35-52 years was selected from a broader online survey of biopsychosocial changes in middle-aged women that considered age, menstrual cycle pattern, physical and mental health, and childbearing experience. Three hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted for different age subgroups: women aged 35-40, women aged 41-45 and women aged 46-52.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated that anxiety and anxiety sensitivity, along with a number of features of the menstrual experience, explained 56-66% of the perimenopausal distress variance. Different personality trait predictors were found to be important in different age subgroups. In the youngest and middle subgroups (45 years and younger), trait anxiety was found to be more significant, whereas anxiety sensitivity was found to be more important in explaining perimenopausal distress experienced by women older than 40.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Anxiety sensitivity (dimension of psychological concerns) might be an important vulnerability factor in the experience of perimenopausal distress among women closer to menopause, whereas the predisposition to an anxiety response might contribute to perimenopausal distress near the beginning of reproductive hormonal changes. Implications for better understanding the development of perimenopausal distress and psychological intervention are discussed.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Mental Health Promotion and Addiction Prevention , Division of Health Promotion, Croatian Institute of Public Health , Zagreb , Croatia , and.
authors.forename: Ljiljana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muslić
authors.affiliation: b Department of Psychology , Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Clinical and Health Psychology Unit, University of Zagreb , Zagreb , Croatia.
authors.forename: Nataša
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jokić-Begić
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D047648:Perimenopause; D010551:Personality; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health
keywords: Anxiety; anxiety sensitivity; middle-aged women; perimenopausal distress