Associations of reproductive hormones and stress-related factors with menopausal symptoms

The main aim was to evaluate the relationships between menopausal symptoms, endogenous hormones, and stress-related factors.

Participants were recruited through online advertisements at Vilnius University and social networks. Sixty-three White Lithuanian women aged 50.2 ± 2.9 years without any known diseases or conditions that could affect menopausal symptoms, hormone levels, or mental health were selected to participate in the cross-sectional study. The Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to assess the intensity of menopausal symptoms in four domains (vasomotor, psychosocial, physical, and sexual). The levels of reproductive hormones were measured in blood serum. To evaluate the level of chronic stress, we used the Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10) and the assessment of hair glucocorticoids (cortisol, cortisone). Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to estimate the associations between menopausal symptoms severity, endogenous hormones, and stress-related factors.

Age (the unstandardized β [ B ] = 0.12), follicle-stimulating hormone concentration ( B = 0.9), and PSS-10 score ( B = 0.08) were associated with the total Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire score (all P < 0.05). The vasomotor domain was related to age ( B = 0.19), follicle-stimulating hormone ( B = 1.24), and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate concentration ( B = -2.8) (all P < 0.05). The psychosocial domain was associated with the PSS-10 score ( B = 0.13, P < 0.001). The physical domain was associated with the number of sleep hours ( B = -0.35, P = 0.02). The sexual domain was negatively related to testosterone concentration ( B = -3.5, P = 0.01).

The results of the present study show that not only hormonal changes but also other factors, such as age, hours of sleep, and experienced stress, are associated with the intensity of menopausal symptoms.