Mean Menopause Duration Research Articles

The COVID-19 Pandemic Impact on the Psychophysical Health of Post-Menopausal Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate lifestyle, menopausal symptoms, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sleep disorders in post-menopausal women throughout the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the impact of menopause hormonal therapy (HT). Materials and Methods: Post-menopausal women were given the following questionnaires: socio-demographic characteristics; lifestyle; history of COVID-19; menopause-specific quality of life (MENQOL), the first part of which refers to the pre-pandemic period ("pre COVID-19") and the second refers to the current period ("during COVID-19"); Beck's depression inventory (BDI); the impact of event scale-revised (IES-R); and the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI). Results: One hundred and twenty-six women completed all questionnaires, with a mean age of 55.5 ± 6.0 years. The mean menopause duration was 5.7 ± 5.6 years. Twenty-four women were taking HT. A significant mean weight gain, a reduction in physical activity (respectively p < 0.001) and worsened quality of romantic relationships (p = 0.001) were reported during the pandemic. Menopausal symptoms did not vary significantly throughout the pandemic; however, women taking menopausal HT had lower physical (p = 0.003) and sexual (p = 0.049) MENQOL domain scores, lower depressive symptoms (p = 0.039) and better romantic relationships (p = 0.008). Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic caused reduced physical activity, worsened food habits and weight gain in post-menopausal women. They also reported a high rate of severe-moderate PTSD and a negative influence on their romantic relationships. Menopausal HT seems to be a potential protective factor for sexual and physical status and for symptoms of depression.

Bone mineral density in postmenopausal women

The impacts of various factors on bone mineral density (BMD) differ across diverse population. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between BMD in the femoral neck (FN) and lumbar spine (LS) with some common clinical, demographic, and biochemical parameters in postmenopausal women. In this cross-sectional case-control study, all postmenopausal women of the Amirkola Health and Ageing Project (AHAP) who performed bone densitometry were included. BMD at FN and LS was measured by DXA method. Data regarding clinical, demographic, and biochemical characteristics were provided. OP was diagnosed by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry criteria. Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analyses with simultaneous adjustment were performed to determine relationship. Five hundred thirty-seven women with mean age of 67.9 ± 6.7 years and mean menopause duration (MD) of 15.8 ± 5.1 years were studied. MD correlated negatively with FNBMD and LS-BMD g/cm 2 ( r = −0.405, P = 0.001 and r = −0.217, P = 0.001). Body mass index (BMI) correlated positively with FN and LS-BMD g/cm 2 ( r = 0.397, P = 0.001 and r = 0.311, P = 0.001). The association of MD with risk of FNOP was stronger than LS-OP. Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) and higher serum ferritin reduced the risk of OP at both LS and FN similarly, whereas the impacts of parity, prior fracture, high level of education, and physical activity were significantly different across BMD measurement sites. The results of this study indicated a significant association between OP and MD, obesity, parity, MS, history of fracture, serum ferritin, level of education, and physical activity. However, the direction and the strength of association varied across BMD measurement sites.

Morphometric semi-quantitative assessment of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal black women in Central Africa.

Patients with osteoporosis commonly collapsed their vertebral body. This has been widely studied in Caucasians, Asians, and Americans and studies in black African are lacking. Our study was designed to establish a pattern of patients with fractures and determine the features of vertebral fractures in postmenopausal black women living in Central Africa. A prospective and multi-centric study was conducted from June 2011 to June 2016, to assess the thoraco-lumbar-computed tomographic images of women. The menopausal statuses and anthropometric parameters (age, height, and weight) were collected. The body mass index and the Asset Poverty Index were evaluated. The reviews included a morphometric analysis of each vertebra that was rated according to the visual semi-quantitative system proposed by Genant et al. Four hundred thirty women aged 47-87years old were included in this study. The mean age was 57years old, and the mean menopause duration was 11.45 ± 6.6years with extremes ranging from 2 to 37years. The body mass indices were rated as overweight and obese in 80.8% of subjects and 54, 3% had high-API indices. Among the 4730 vertebrae analyzed, 529 (11.12%) were fractured, with 68.7% exhibited a cup-shaped deformation (biconcave), 19.8% had a wedge-shaped deformation, and 11.4% exhibited a cake (crush) deformation. Of the vertebras, 88.8% were grade 0, 5.5% grade 1, 5% grade 2, and 0.57% were grade 3. Of the women, 68.8% had one vertebra fractured and 31.2% had more than one fractured vertebrae. This study seemed to determine the pattern and features of vertebral fractures in black African women which may be useful for comparisons with the pattern of worldwide populations.

Experience in using Prolia in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis in clinical practice

To evaluate the efficiency and safety of long-term Prolia therapy in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis (OP). The open prospective study enrolled 98 women (mean age, 68±9 years; mean menopause duration, 17±4 years) with postmenopausal OP, who were followed up in an outpatient setting at the National Medical Research Center for Preventive Medicine and who had been treated with denosumab 60 mg subcutaneously every 6 months for 12 months or more. The maximum follow-up period was 4 years: 48, 29, 11, and 10 patients were treated for 12, 24, 36, and 48 months, respectively. The patients were allocated into 2 groups: those who received and those who had not previously received antiosteoporotic therapy. Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured using dual-energy X-ray densitometry of the lumbar spine (LI-LIV) and proximal femur (PF). The ten-year probability of major osteoporotic fractures was estimated once in 72 patients not previously receiving antiosteoporotic therapy before the prescription of denosumab. In the patients not previously receiving therapy, the median 10-year probability of major fractures using the FRAX algorithm was 14.9%; that of femoral neck (FN) fractures was 3.7%. During denosumab treatment, the BMD increase in the lumbar spine was 4.2% at 12 months, 7.5% at 24 months, was 8.8% at 36 months; that in FN was 3.1, 3.9, and 5.3%, that in PF was 2.8, 4.1, and 5%; and that in the 1/3 forearm was 0.9, 1.4, and 2.6%, respectively (p < 0.001). In the persons receiving and not previously receiving the therapy, the BMD increase was similar, i.e. there was an additional positive effect when switching to denosumab. The decrease in the serum concentration of C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX-I) was 54% at 6 months after initiation of denosumab therapy (p < 0.001) and 72% at 12 months (p<0.001); and the achieved marker level remained unchanged at 48 months. Transition from the OP zone to osteopenia one was noted in 23 patients with low BMD (T-score -2.5 SD) in LI-LII and in 12 patients with that in FN at 12 months of denosumab therapy and this was in 25 patients at 24 months. Nine-eight patients receiving the first Prolia injection refused to continue treatment on their own; adverse events were not the reason for drug discontinuation. Therapy with denosumab was effective in increasing BMD in routine outpatient practice and in allowing 25% of patients to achieve target values of this indicator. The marked decrease in the level of the bone resorption marker STX suggested that the drug had antiresorptive potency. The frequency of adverse reactions was low, confirming the good tolerability and safety profile of the drug. The convenience of the scheme and route of drug administration contributed to strict compliance with the doctor's recommendations. Denosumab was effective in increasing BMD not only in untreated patients, but also in those who had previously received antiosteoporotic therapy. The pharmacokinetic characteristics of denosumab, which contribute to its uniform distribution in trabecular and cortical bone tissue, regardless of active bone remodeling, and the fact that the clearance of the drug is independent of kidney function offer an advantage of administering the drug to patients with significant loss of FN and radius BMD and of reducing kidney function.

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tubes: Analysis of sixteen patients.

Objective:The aim of this study was to review patients with tubal carcinoma who underwent surgery in our clinic due to primary carcinoma of the fallopian tubes, a very rare gynecologic malignancy.Materials and Methods:Sixteen patients who were diagnosed as having primary carcinoma of the fallopian tubes and underwent surgery in Zeynep Kamil Research and Training Hospital between January 2007 and December 2014 were included in the study. Demographic data such as age, gravidity, parity, menopausal condition, symptoms, adjuvant therapy, recurrence of tumor, as well as time and type of operation were extracted from patient epicrisis reports and oncology files. Patient information was extracted from the patients’ current files and phone calls were made with patients and their relatives.Results:The mean age of patients was 59.6 (range, 43-78) years. Seventy-five percent of the women were menopausal at admission; the mean menopause duration was 10 years (range, 1-20 years). None of the patients were nulliparous and mean parity was 4.3 (2-8). The most common presenting symptom was abdominopelvic pain, followed by abnormal uterine bleeding. The most common histopathologic type was high-grade serous carcinoma. The mean follow-up duration was 23.7 months (range, 2-53 months). During follow-up, recurrence was seen in 4 (25%) patients. One patient left the study during follow-up. The mean disease-free survival was 48 months. No relation was found between disease-free survival, age, stage, grade, and histologic type in univariate logistic regression analysis.Conclusion:Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tubes is a rare gynecologic tumor that is seen in older patients, has no specific signs, and usually cannot be diagnosed before surgery. Therefore, we think that large-series, multi-centered studies with long-term follow-up duration are needed to define its etiopathogenesis and treatment strategies for the disease.

Factors affecting bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.

Osteoporosis (OP) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the elderly people. The impacts of various factors on bone mineral density (BMD) differ across diverse population. We hypothesized that the influences of factors which affect BMD vary according to BMD measurement sites. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between BMD in the femoral neck (FN) and lumbar spine (LS) with some common clinical, demographic, and biochemical parameters in postmenopausal women. In this cross-sectional case-control study, all postmenopausal women of the Amirkola Health and Ageing Project (AHAP) who performed bone densitometry were included. BMD at FN and LS was measured by DXA method. Data regarding clinical, demographic, and biochemical characteristics were provided. OP was diagnosed by the International Society for Clinical Densitometry criteria. Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analyses with simultaneous adjustment were performed to determine relationship. Five hundred thirty-seven women with mean age of 67.9 ± 6.7 years and mean menopause duration (MD) of 15.8 ± 5.1 years were studied. MD correlated negatively with FN-BMD and LS-BMD g/cm(2) (r = -0.405, p = 0.001 and r = -0.217, p = 0.001). Body mass index (BMI) correlated positively with FN and LS-BMD g/cm(2) (r = 0.397, p = 0.001 and r = 0.311, p = 0.001). The association of MD with risk of FN-OP was stronger than LS-OP. Obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) and higher serum ferritin reduced the risk of OP at both LS and FN similarly, whereas the impacts of parity, prior fracture, high level of education, and physical activity were significantly different across BMD measurement sites. The results of this study indicated a significant association between OP and MD, obesity, parity, MS, history of fracture, serum ferritin, level of education, and physical activity. However, the direction and the strength of association varied across BMD measurement sites.