Effects of walking on body composition in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that examined the effect of walking on body weight, body mass index (BMI), and body fat percentage in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. METHODS: Two authors identified randomized controlled trials of interventions at least 4 weeks in duration that included at least one group with walking as the only treatment and a no-exercise control group. Participants were inactive at baseline. Weighted mean differences were calculated using the fixed-effects and random-effects models. Heterogeneity among trials was examined using the Q statistic and I methods. Potential publication bias was assessed through funnel plot inspection. RESULTS: Eight studies met the study inclusion criteria. Meta-analysis results showed statistically significant reductions in mean differences for BMI (-0.33 kg/m, 95% CI -0.62 to -0.04 kg/m), body weight (-1.14 kg, 95% CI -1.86 to -0.42 kg), and body fat percentage (-2.36%, 95% CI -3.21% to -1.52%). The results were consistent in showing effects of walking on BMI (I = 11%), body weight (I = 20%), and body fat percentage (I = 0%). Funnel plots showed asymmetry for body composition. CONCLUSIONS: Walking interventions improved body composition in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, which underscores the central role of walking as a physical activity for health promotion.

Impact of menopause on quality of life in community-based women in China.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of menopause, age, and other factors on quality of life (QOL). DESIGN: Generally healthy women aged 35 to 64 years were recruited from a general community in Beijing, People's Republic of China. An instrument including the Chinese version of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire was used to obtain data. RESULTS: A gradual decline of QOL was seen from pre- to peri- and postmenopausal women in the same age group. Statistically impaired QOL was associated with the peri- and postmenopausal women in vasomotor and physical domains but only with the postmenopausal women in psychosocial and sexual domains. Early postmenopausal women presented the worse QOL in vasomotor, psychosocial and physical domains. The gradually declining sexual QOL was related to the advance of menopause. Age had a negative impact on QOL in vasomotor and sexual domains. Women who assessed their own health as common (fair) or weak (poor) reported worse QOL than those who decribed themselves as healthy. Women with a higher body mass index reported more vasomotor symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Menopause might have a negative impact on QOL independent of age in community-based women in China. There seemed to be a potential model of the relationship of menopause status to change in QOL, but this needs supporting evidence from longitudinal studies. The association of QOL with age and other factors also should be considered.

Menopause-specific quality of life satisfaction in community-dwelling menopausal women in China.

The present study aimed to evaluate the satisfaction with quality of life of menopausal women living in an urban community of Beijing, People's Republic of China, using the Chinese version of the menopause-specific quality of life questionnaire (MENQOL). Menopause-related complaints were assessed for 353 women aged 40-60 years during their menopausal transition (MT) or postmenopause (PM) using MENQOL. The Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test and Pearson correlation were used for statistical analysis. The mean age of the subjects was 51.20 +/- 4.62 years. The most frequent symptom was 'experiencing poor memory' (84.1%) and the least frequent was 'dissatisfaction with personal life' (26.9%). Mean scores of vasomotor and sexual symptoms in PM women were higher than in MT women (2.60 +/- 1.74 and 3.39 +/- 2.35 vs. 1.96 +/- 1.46 and 2.10 +/- 1.48, respectively; p = 0.0001). The prevalence of menopause-related symptoms varied between self-assessed health status groups (chi(2) = 29.12, p = 0.0001). In conclusion, MENQOL is a good self-administered tool in the assessment of climacteric complaints, with convenient application. The most frequent climacteric symptom of Chinese women living in an urban community was 'experiencing poor memory'. PM women seemed to suffer from more symptoms, especially in vasomotor and sexual domains, than did MT women. Symptom reports might be associated with self-assessed health status.