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Therapeutic decisions for menopause: results of the DAMES project in central Massachusetts
Carla Makhlouf Obermeyer1, Robert F Reynolds, Kim Price
1Department of Population and International Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 665 Avenue of the Arts, Boston, MA, USA. cobern@hsph.harvard.edu
Objective:
To investigate the factors that influence therapeutic decisions at menopause, particularly those related to the burden of menopause symptoms, in a population of women living in Massachusetts, as part of the multisite DAMES (Decisions At Menopause Study).
Design:
A survey using face-to-face interviews with a randomly selected sample of 293 women aged 45 to 55 who are members of the Fallon Community Health Plan in Central Massachusetts. The instrument combined closed- and open-ended questions and elicited information about a number of health topics, including the symptoms experienced by respondents over the preceding month and the decisions they made regarding therapies.
Results:
Symptom reporting was found to be relatively high, with more than half of the sample reporting hot flashes, sleep disturbances, joint pains, and headaches in the month preceding the survey; one third to one half of the women reported palpitations, night sweats, fatigue, and numbness. The highest frequency of symptoms occurred during perimenopause. Nearly four fifths of the women consulted a healthcare provider, and one fifth used hormone therapy. More than half of the respondents said menopause is a difficult phase, and about half found decisionmaking about it to be difficult.
Conclusions:
This study documents a relatively heavy burden of symptoms in a relatively healthy population and provides an update on earlier studies in Massachusetts.
