Physical activity modifies association between menopause, mental well-being

Postmenopausal women are likely to have slightly higher depressive symptoms relative to their premenopausal counterparts, although the association between menopause and mental well-being varies with the level of physical activity (PA), a study has shown.

The analysis included women aged 47 to 55 years who underwent a hormonal analysis and completed a bleeding diary. Of these, 304 were premenopausal, 198 were in early perimenopause, 209 were in late perimenopause, and 387 were postmenopausal.

Mental well-being was evaluated using the following: Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale, the International Positive and Negative Affect Schedule Short Form, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results revealed that depressive symptoms were lower in premenopausal than in postmenopausal women (B, 0.07), but menopausal symptoms weakened this association.

Furthermore, menopausal status was not associated with life satisfaction or with positive or negative affectivity.

Women with high vs low PA scored higher on positive affectivity. Also, among women with high PA, those who were premenopausal, in early perimenopause and were postmenopausal achieved higher scores on life satisfaction (p<0.001, p=0.009 and p=0.009, respectively) and lower scores on depressive symptoms (p=0.039, p=0.034 and p<0.001, respectively) compared with their low-PA counterparts.

Meanwhile, premenopausal and postmenopausal women with medium PA scored higher on life satisfaction (p=0.001 and p=0.004, respectively) than those with low PA.