Impact of insomnia on pain in postmenopausal women.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbances and pain are assumed to be reciprocally linked. Insomnia and pain are central symptoms of the postmenopausal period and are closely related. Insomnia affects quality of life, increases pain sensitivity, the risk of pain-related disability, and other health problems. OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether insomnia influences aspects of pain (pain intensity and the effect of pain on daily function) in postmenopausal women, and to evaluate the objective sleep pattern of insomniacs with pain. METHODS: Fifty-seven women completed questionnaires about insomnia, climacteric symptoms, and pain. Polysomnography data were collected as well as their medical history. Patients were allocated into three groups: control, subthreshold insomnia, and insomnia. Pain intensity, climacteric symptoms and objective sleep pattern were compared between groups. RESULTS: Postmenopausal women with insomnia had statistically significant higher pain interference in their activities (e.g. relationships with other people, enjoyment of life and sleep) than controls, and had more severe climacteric symptoms. There were no statistically significant differences in pain intensity and objective sleep pattern between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Insomnia status affected climacteric symptoms and pain interference, but not pain intensity in postmenopausal women. Women with insomnia had higher rates of climacteric symptoms than those without insomnia or those with subthreshold insomnia. No changes in objective sleep pattern were found.

Musculoskeletal pain and the reproductive life stage in women: is there a relationship?

Objectives To investigate the association between reproductive life stage, pain perception and musculoskeletal pain complaint in a representative sample of women from São Paulo, Brazil. Methods A population-based survey was carried out with 574 women who were classified as being in the premenopausal or postmenopausal stage. They answered questions about pain perception and musculoskeletal pain. Follicle stimulating hormone was collected to confirm menopausal condition along with clinical evaluation. Results In the whole sample, we found a prevalence of 56% for pain perception and 20.2% for complaints of musculoskeletal pain. Regarding the topography of musculoskeletal pain, the distributions were similar among the premenopausal and postmenopausal groups. No significant association was found between reproductive life stage and pain perception, as 58.1% of the premenopausal group and 52.0% of the postmenopausal group reported pain. Similarly, there was no significant association between menopausal stage and musculoskeletal pain, as 19.5% and 21.6% of the premenopausal and postmenopausal women, respectively, complained of musculoskeletal pain. There was no significant association of postmenopausal stage (early or late) with pain perception or musculoskeletal pain. The use of analgesics was significantly higher in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women (p < 0.001). Conclusion A high prevalence of pain was found in women from the city of São Paulo. However, neither the presence of musculoskeletal pain nor pain perception were associated with the reproductive life stage, showing that both parameters was independent from the menopausal status in the studied women.