Urban-rural differences in Spanish menopausal women

Most women spend one-third to half of their lifespan in the postmenopausal phase. As menopause involves biological and psychosocial changes that may significantly impair quality of life, the objectives of this study were to: (1) evaluate the prevalence of risk factors for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease and the prevalence and severity of the appearance of menopausal symptoms among rural and urban Spanish menopausal women; (2) identify the main factors responsible for severity of symptoms; and (3) detect symptom differences between rural and urban women.

This cross-sectional descriptive study included 10,514 random-sampled women aged 45-65 years from Spain. Sociodemographic information, medical history and lifestyle data were assessed by survey. The Kupperman scale was used to assess severity of menopausal symptoms.

Urban women had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular and osteoporosis risk factors than rural women, although this was not statistically significant. There was a greater frequency of menopausal symptoms in urban women although rural women experienced more hot flushes (p<0.05), depression, joint pain and tingling. In rural women menopausal symptoms were less severe (p<0.01).

A high prevalence of risk factors for osteoporosis, and cardiovascular disease in particular, was observed. There were statistically significant differences between urban and rural women for some cardiovascular risk factors, frequency of hot flushes and severity of menopausal symptoms.