Quality of life and hormone therapy in women before and after menopause

OBJECTIVE: To study how women evaluate their quality of life (QoL) in relation to age, menopause and hormone therapy (HT). DESIGN: An anonymous postal questionnaire comprising the Gothenburg QoL Instrument and items concerning menopause, symptoms, diseases, drugs and smoking. SETTING: A primary care district in southern Sweden. SUBJECTS: All women aged 45, 50, 55 and 60 in 1995 (n = 126), 1996 (n = 130), 1997 (n = 134) and 1998 (n = 145). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: QoL (global, social, physical/mental well-being) and number of symptoms (psychological, physical) reported during the past 3 months. RESULTS: The older women rated their QoL, especially social well-being (p < 0.001), higher and reported a lower number of symptoms, particularly psychological symptoms (p = 0.02), than the younger women did. Pre- and post-menopausal women in the various age groups did not differ on the main outcome measures. A history of HT and use of hormonal contraceptives tended to be associated with lower well-being and a greater number of symptoms, an association found in women 55 years of age to be highly significant (p < 0.01-0.001) for all the main outcome measures. CONCLUSION: The effects of menopause on QoL seemed generally to be of minor importance. QoL in women was lower in those with a history of HT than in those with no such experience.