The quality of life in the post-menopausal woman

Health-related quality of life is a subjective parameter which refers to the effects of an individual's physical state on all aspects of psychosocial functioning. Measures of quality of life attempt to gauge the effects of ill health across a number of physical, psychological and social parameters. Standardized menopause-specific instruments which measure symptoms of the climacteric need to satisfy the criteria of factor analysis, of subscales measuring different aspects of symptomatology, and sound psychometric properties and to be standardized among populations of women. Five scales fulfil these four criteria; they are the Greene Climacteric Scale, the Women's Health Questionnaire, the Menopausal Symptom List, the Menopause Rating Scale and the Utian Menopause Quality of Life Score. Experience utilizing the Menopause Rating Scale in a Berlin study established different types of menopause coping styles. The most important factors analysed were attractiveness, self-confidence, re-orientation in life and partner relationship. Comparing the sum-score of the Short-Form 36 with the score of the somatic and psychological dimensions of the Menopause Rating Scale allows the conclusion that the severity of menopausal symptoms is what reflects best the profile of quality-of-life dimensions.