The effect of age and menopausal status on musculoskeletal symptoms in Chinese women aged 35-64 years

To assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms at four different anatomical sites and the impact of menopause, age, and other factors on musculoskeletal symptoms.

Generally healthy women aged 35-64 years were recruited from a general community in Beijing, People's Republic of China. Data were collected with a questionnaire including the basic conditions, menopausal status, and frequency of musculoskeletal symptoms (rarely, occasionally or frequently) during the previous 2 weeks at the neck, lower back, knee and other sites. The prevalences of frequent symptoms were calculated for each site.

A total of 743 women were enrolled in the study; 33.4% complained of frequent lower back pain, 31.0% of frequent knee pain, 29.7% of frequent neck pain, 25.6% of joint pain at other sites, 23.6% of joint stiffness and 21.1% of hand joint swelling. Postmenopausal women experienced a significantly higher prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms compared with premenopausal women. There was a peak in prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms at early postmenopause. The prevalences of neck pain and lower back pain were not associated with age, but did increase during the perimenopausal stage. The prevalences of knee pain, joint stiffness and hand joint swelling increased significantly with age. Higher body mass index (BMI) was related to increased prevalences of knee pain, joint stiffness and hand joint swelling. Logistic regression analysis showed odds ratios for knee pain, joint stiffness and hand joint swelling of 2.256, 1.865 and 1.955, respectively, in the obese women (BMI ≥ 28 kg/m(2)), compared with women with normal BMI (< 24 kg/m(2)).

Menopause is known to be a time of increased musculoskeletal symptoms, but the association of musculoskeletal symptoms with age and BMI also should be considered.