What question did this study set out to answer?

To compare sleep quality and mental health between menopausal and young women while assessing menopausal symptoms' severity.

April 1, 2026Open Access

Impaired sleep quality and mental health are associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms

JSJin SakamotoRitsumeikan University SOSaya OkamotoRitsumeikan University CLChao-An LinRitsumeikan University

Key Points

To compare sleep quality and mental health between menopausal and young women while assessing menopausal symptoms' severity.
Compared 20 menopausal women with 20 young women
Assessed body composition, mental health scores, and sleep scores
Used CES-D, DASS-21, SF-8 for mental health; PSQI for sleep quality
Menopausal women had higher CES-D and DASS-21 scores, indicating worse mental health
PSQI scores were also higher in menopausal women, showing impaired sleep quality
Severe menopausal symptoms correlated with lower sleep quality and higher stress levels

Abstract

Purpose We compared sleep quality and mental health in healthy menopausal women and healthy young women. In addition, the impact of the severity of menopausal symptoms on each variable was determined.Methods Twenty menopausal women (MW; 49 ± 3 years) and 20 young women (YM; 20 ± 1 years) were recruited. Body composition, mental health scores (evaluated using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale CES-D, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 DASS-21, the School Form-8 SF-8, health-related QOL), and sleep score (evaluated using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index PSQI) were assessed.Results Body composition did not significantly differ between the groups. In the MW group, the CES-D and DASS-21 scores were significantly higher. Also, PSQI scores were significantly higher, indicating impaired sleep quality. Moreover, women with more severe menopausal symptoms had significantly lower sleep quality and inferior mental stress (evaluated by DASS-21 Stress) than those with less-severe symptoms.Conclusion Sleep quality and mental health are negatively impacted by menopause, especially among those with severe symptoms.

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