Lifestyle behaviors do not moderate the association between menopausal symptoms and need for recovery after work

To examine the moderating role of lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, and body mass index) in the association between menopausal symptoms and need for recovery after work in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.

This study used cross-sectional survey data from 9942 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women participating in the Dutch Lifelines cohort in 2024. Measures included menopausal symptoms (measured with the Greene Climacteric Scale, GCS), lifestyle behaviors, need for recovery, and sociodemographic and work-related characteristics.

The association between menopausal symptoms and need for recovery was examined using logistic regression. Interaction terms between menopausal symptoms and lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, BMI) were added to test for moderation.

Women with a 10-point higher GCS score had 4.51 times (95 %-CI = 4.17-4.87) greater odds of reporting a high need for recovery than women with a lower score. More hours of moderate-intensity (OR = 0.99, 95 %-CI = 0.98-0.996) and vigorous-intensity (OR = 0.91, 95 %-CI = 0.87-0.95) activity were associated with lower odds of high need for recovery, whereas higher BMI was associated with higher odds (OR = 1.02, 95 %-CI = 1.01-1.03). None of the lifestyle behaviors moderated the association between menopausal symptoms and need for recovery (all interaction terms p > 0.10).

Menopausal symptoms were strongly associated with need for recovery after work. The findings suggest that high-risk groups based on physical activity, alcohol use, smoking, and BMI cannot be identified. The substantial impact of menopausal symptoms on need for recovery after work calls for prevention strategies targeting all perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, regardless of their lifestyle behaviors.