Post-COVID-19 syndrome in a sample of climacteric women living in Latin America.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to assess resilience, fear of COVID-19, sleep disorders, and menopause-related symptoms after the acute phase of COVID-19 in middle-aged women with positive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and noninfected women. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional, analytical study of climacteric women from 9 Latin American countries, aged 40-64 years, attending a routine health checkup. We evaluated clinical characteristics and used the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Jenkins Sleep Scale, and the Menopause Rating Scale to evaluate their health. RESULTS: A total of 1,238 women were studied, including 304 who were positive for COVID-19 reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The median (interquartile range) age was 53 (12) years; years of studies, 16 (6); body mass index, 25.6 (5.1) kg/m 2 ; and time since first COVID-19 symptom, 8 (6) months. COVID-19 patients reported fatigability (18.8%), joint and muscular discomfort (14.1%), and anosmia (9.5%). They had a significantly lower resilience score (26.87 ± 8.94 vs 29.94 ± 6.65), higher Fear of COVID-19 score (17.55 ± 7.44 vs 15.61 ± 6.34), and a higher Jenkins Scale score (6.10 ± 5.70 vs 5.09 ± 5.32) compared with control women. A logistic regression model confirmed these results. There was not a significant difference in the total Menopause Rating Scale score, although the odds ratios for both severe menopausal symptoms (1.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.76) and the use of hypnotics were higher in women with COVID-19 (1.80; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-2.50) compared with those without infection. We found no decrease in studied outcomes between the initial 7 months versus those reported after 8 to 18 months since first COVID-19 symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 climacteric women have sleep disorders, lower resilience and higher fear of COVID-19.

Factors affecting climacteric women with SARS-CoV-2 infection: A multinational Latin America study (REDLINC XI).

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association between factors, especially those linked to the climacteric, and a history of COVID-19 infection. METHODS: This was an observational, cross-sectional, and analytical study in which women from ten Latin American countries, aged 40-64, who attended a routine health check-up were invited to participate. A positive history for COVID-19 was based on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction reports. We evaluated sociodemographic, clinical, lifestyle, anthropometric variables, and menopausal symptoms using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). RESULTS: A total of 1238 women were included for analysis, of whom 304 (24.6 %) had a positive history for COVID-19. The median [interquartile range: IQR] age of participants was 53 [IQR 12] years, duration of formal education was 16 [6] years, body mass index 25.6 [5.1] kg/m2, and total MRS score 10 [13]. In a logistic regression model, factors positively associated with COVID-19 included postmenopausal status and having a family history of dementia (OR: 1.53; 95 % CI: 1.13-2.07, and 2.40; 1.65-3.48, respectively), whereas negatively associated were use of menopausal hormone therapy (current or past), being a housewife, and being nulliparous (OR: 0.47; 95 % CI: 0.30-0.73; 0.72; 0.53-0.97 and 0.56; 0.34-0.92, respectively). Smoking, being sexually active, and use of hypnotics were also factors positively associated with COVID-19. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal status and a family history of dementia were more frequent among women who had had COVID-19, and the infection was less frequent among current or past menopause hormone therapy users and in those with less physical contact.