Abstract
BackgroundSymptom prevalence is generally believed to increase with age. The aim of this study was to evaluate the age specific prevalence of 30 general symptoms among Swedish middle-aged women.MethodsA cross-sectional postal questionnaire study in seven Swedish counties in a random sample of 4,200 women 35–64 years old, with 2,991 responders. Thirty general symptoms included in the Complaint Score subscale of the Gothenburg Quality of Life Instrument were used.ResultsFour groups of age specific prevalence patterns were identified after adjustment for the influence of educational level, perceived health and mood, body mass index, smoking habits, use of hormone replacement therapy, and use of other symptom relieving therapy. Only five symptoms (insomnia, leg pain, joint pain, eye problems and impaired hearing) increased significantly with age. Eleven symptoms (general fatigue, headache, irritability, melancholy, backache, exhaustion, feels cold, cries easily, abdominal pain, dizziness, and nausea) decreased significantly with age. Two symptoms (sweating and impaired concentration) had a biphasic course with a significant increase followed by a significant decrease. The remaining twelve symptoms (difficulty in relaxing, restlessness, overweight, coughing, breathlessness, diarrhoea, chest pain, constipation, nervousness, poor appetite, weight loss, and difficulty in urinating) had stable prevalence with age.ConclusionSymptoms did not necessarily increase with age instead symptoms related to stress-tension-depression decreased.
Highlights
Symptom prevalence is generally believed to increase with age
If symptom prevalence mirrors disease prevalence symptom prevalence should increase with age
Educational level was classified as compulsory education only, vocational training, high school, or college/university education
Summary
Symptom prevalence is generally believed to increase with age. The aim of this study was to evaluate the age specific prevalence of 30 general symptoms among Swedish middle-aged women. The burden of morbidity increases with increasing age, while the prevalence of symptoms seems to be less age dependent. Symptoms may indicate disease they may be attributable to the physiological effects of anxiety or other emotions arising from a personal problem [1]. Several studies have shown that women of all ages report more symptoms, take more of both prescription and nonprescription medication and consult physicians more often than men [6,7,8]. One possible explanation may be that women are more attentive to their wellbeing (physical and psychological), and seek medical attention based on perception of their symptoms. It has been claimed that the menopausal syndrome is related more to personal characteristics than to the menopause per se, and that women in menopausal transition with several complaints of other origin than vasomotor may be suffering from underlying depression [9]
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