The Relationship between Social Support and Mental Health Problems of Peri- and Postmenopausal Women during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic affects women's mental health, because they are more predisposed to vulnerabilities and adverse impacts. Therefore, is important to find strategies for preventing and treating these mental health consequences in the female population. The main purposes of our study were to determine the level of social support received by peri- and postmenopausal women during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, as well as factors related to this level with reference to health status and sociodemographic variables. A total of 218 women in peri- and postmenopausal status participated in the study. The study assessed depression (Beck Depression Inventory), anxiety (the Spielberg State-Trait Anxiety Scale), climacteric symptoms (the Blatt-Kupperman Index), social support (the Inventory of Social Supportive Behaviors). The majority of the respondents had a moderate level of anxiety as a state (40.8%), a low level of anxiety as a trait (51.4%), no depressive symptoms (75.2%) and no climacteric symptoms (52.3%). Age was found to significantly correlate with anxiety as a state (p = 0.036). The anxiety as state was significantly stronger in people with higher education than in people with secondary education (p = 0.019). Professionally inactive women had more emotional (p = 0.05) and appraisal (p = 0.014) support than women who work. The analysis demonstrated no statistically significant correlation between social support and depression, anxiety or climacteric symptoms (p > 0.05). The majority of peri- and postmenopausal women had no depressive symptoms and/or anxiety symptoms. Professionally inactive women had more emotional and appraisal support than women who work. The analysis demonstrated no statistically significant correlation between social support and depression, anxiety or climacteric symptoms.

Determination of exercise habits, physical activity level and anxiety level of postmenopausal women during COVID-19 pandemic.

In this study, researchers aimed to determine exercise habits, physical activity (PA) levels and anxiety levels of postmenopausal women (PMw) during the self-quarantine period of the COVID-19 pandemic. 104 PMw (59.00 ± 6.61 years old) participated in the study. It was found that PMw who had exercise habits before the pandemic period had higher PA levels, and the women with high anxiety levels during the pandemic had lower PA levels (p < .05). Anxiety levels and PA were negatively associated with each other. Numbers of grandchildren also affected the PA and anxiety levels of the PMw negatively. Women should be encouraged to initiate or maintain PA levels in all circumstances.

Health-related quality of life and resilience in peri- and postmenopausal women during Covid-19 confinement.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of confinement due to the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and resilience in peri- and postmenopausal women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We used an online questionnaire which was sent between April 30th and May 13th, 2020 to women aged 40-70 years who were peri- or postmenopausal according to STRAW criteria. We used the 16-item Cervantes short-form scale (Cervantes-SF) to measure HRQoL, and the 14-item Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (RS-14) to measure resilience. High scores on the Cervantes-SF indicate low HRQoL and high scores on the RS-14 indicate high levels of resilience. Covid-19 status, sociodemographic descriptors, and lifestyle variables were also evaluated. RESULTS: We included 2430 peri- and postmenopausal women with valid questionnaires. All items of the Cervantes-SF were completed in 2151 cases, whilst the RS-14 was completed in 2413 cases. There was a negative correlation between scores on the Cervantes-SF and RS-14 scales (Rho -0.350; p < 0.0001). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed a statistically significant association between Cervantes-SF scores and living with others (ß-coefficient -10.2; p < 0.001), use of antidepressants (ß 9.3; p < 0.001), physical activity (ß -8.6; p < 0.001) and sexual activity (ß -2.7; p < 0.001). Resilience was associated with the use of antidepressants (ß -5.9; p < 0.001), physical activity (ß 3.2; p < 0.001) and sexual activity (ß 1.7; p = 0.005). According to the multivariate analysis, there were no associations between either Covid-19 or menopausal status and HRQoL or resilience scores. CONCLUSIONS: During the period of mandatory Covid-19 confinement, peri- and postmenopausal women who engaged in physical and sexual activity had higher HRQoL and higher levels of resilience, whilst women who were using antidepressants had lower HRQoL and lower levels of resilience. HRQoL was greater in women who lived with others.