Dancing Through Menopause: 16-Week Jazz Dance Program Reduces Stress, Not Urogenital Symptoms.

Area of Science:

• Menopause research
• Integrative medicine
• Women's health

Background:

• Menopause presents physical and psychological challenges.
• Effective, non-pharmacological interventions are sought for symptom management.
• Jazz Dance is explored as a potential complementary therapy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate Jazz Dance's impact on stress, urinary incontinence, and sexual function in menopausal women.
• To assess short-term and long-term effects.
• To determine if stress predicts sexual function and urinary incontinence.

Main Methods:

• Two-arm randomized clinical trial with 47 menopausal women.
• Intervention group performed Jazz Dance; control group received no intervention.
• Data collected at baseline, post-intervention, and 6/12-month follow-ups using FSFI, PSS, and ICIQ-SF.

Main Results:

• Jazz Dance intervention group showed significant long-term improvements in stress (P=.030) and sexual function domains: satisfaction (P=.041), desire (P=.018), and orgasm (P=.033).
• Stress was identified as a predictor of sexual dysfunction and urinary incontinence.
• No significant long-term benefits were observed for urinary incontinence management.

Conclusions:

• Jazz Dance is an effective, low-cost modality for managing menopausal stress.
• Long-term benefits for sexual function warrant further investigation.
• Jazz Dance is not an effective alternative for managing urinary incontinence in menopausal women.