Occurrence of climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women after prophylactic bilateral ovariectomy

To analyse the quality of life in postmenopausal women after prophylactic bilateral ovariectomy depending on the time from menopause.

The study involved 252 postmenopausal women grouped according to the time from last menstruation: one to five years (group A), five to ten years (group B), and > ten years (group C). All women were ovariectomized during laparotomy performed for benign diseases of the uterus. Climacteric symptoms were measured with the Kupperman Index one day before and three months after surgery.

Highly significant age differences and no substantial BMI differences were demonstrated among the study groups. Before and after surgery climacteric symptoms were reported by 17.06% and 57.8% of women, respectively. After surgery, group A women significantly more often had hot flushes, sweating, nervousness, and sleep disorders, the women in group B significantly more often reported sleep disorders, nervousness, and sweating, and the women in group C significantly more often complained of nervousness.

In postmenopausal women, ovaries play the most important role during the first ten years from the last menstruation.