When, why and for whom there is a relationship between physical activity and menopause symptoms
Section snippets
Participants
Participants were sedentary women recruited from the community through signs at grocery stores, print media, and radio advertisements (see Napolitano et al. [33]). Women who participated in less than 90 min of intentional moderate-intensity physical activity per week or less than 60 min of vigorous intensity physical activity per week were eligible. Women with medical problems that could be exacerbated by physical activity were excluded from the study (e.g. asthma, cardiovascular disease). The
Participant characteristics
When comparing the women in terms of symptoms reported, those who reported experiencing symptoms were significantly older. No other group differences were found (see Table 2). We examined additional potential confounds of our analyses including smoking, marital status and hormone replacement therapy use. Of the women experiencing menopause symptoms, 4 reported currently smoking, and 42 women reported smoking ever. Sixty-one women reported using some measure to relieve their symptoms, with 11 of
Discussion
This study examined the relationship between physical activity and symptoms attributed to menopause in a randomized controlled physical activity trial. Change in physical activity was found to predict total menopause symptoms. We hypothesized that change in physical activity would be more highly related to general or non-specific symptoms attributed to menopause as opposed to specific menopause symptoms. Regression analyses confirmed these hypotheses. Increase in physical activity was related
Conclusion
In conclusion, physical activity was found to be related to fewer physical symptoms, and fewer psychosocial symptoms. Also, of interest, exercise self-efficacy mediated the relationship between physical activity and reporting of physical and psychosocial menopause symptoms. Finally, there was an interaction between mood and physical activity. For individuals with high baseline depressive symptoms, increasing physical activity the most is associated with reporting fewer sexual symptoms. These
Conflicts of interest
We have no conflicts of interest or competing interests to report.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation #044224 and materials were provided in kind by the American Heart Association. A portion of this material is the result of work supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Department of Veterans Affairs, New Jersey Health Care System.
Contributors: Lisa M. McAndrew, Ph.D. participated in the writing and data analysis.
Melissa A. Napolitano, Ph.D. participated in the study by serving as the Principal
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