Association between menopausal symptoms and relationship distress
Juliana M Kling1, Megan Kelly2, Jordan Rullo3
1Women's Health Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ, United States.
Maturitas
|November 11, 2019
Summary
Relationship distress is linked to more severe menopausal symptoms, especially psychological ones. Women without relationship distress reported fewer symptoms overall, highlighting the connection between marital satisfaction and menopause well-being.
Area of Science:
- Women's Health
- Menopause Research
- Psychological Well-being
Background:
- Menopausal symptoms significantly impact women's quality of life.
- Relationship distress is a potential factor influencing symptom severity.
- Understanding these associations can inform targeted interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between relationship distress and the severity of menopausal symptoms.
- To analyze how marital satisfaction relates to various menopausal symptom domains.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of questionnaires from 1884 women aged 40-65.
- Assessed menopausal symptoms using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS).
- Measured relationship distress with the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS), using t-tests and regression analysis.
Main Results:
- Women without relationship distress reported significantly less severe menopausal symptoms (MRS 13.1 vs 16.0, P < 0.001).
- This association persisted after adjusting for confounders, particularly for psychological symptoms.
- Women reporting no distress scored lower on total MRS and psychological symptom scales.
Conclusions:
- Absence of relationship distress correlates with reduced menopausal symptom severity, especially psychological symptoms.
- Findings suggest a link between relationship quality and menopause experience in women's health clinic attendees.
- The cross-sectional design limits determining the causal direction of this relationship.
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