Association of mindfulness and stress with menopausal symptoms in midlife women.

Purpose: Midlife women frequently experience stress and menopausal symptoms. Mindfulness is thought to mitigate stress by avoiding emotional reactivity and ruminative thinking. We sought to assess the association of mindfulness and stress on menopausal symptoms among midlife women. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, women aged 40-65 years completed questionnaires, including the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4), and the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Linear regression was used to assess the impact of mindfulness and stress on menopausal symptoms with use of univariate and multivariable analyses, adjusting for patient characteristics. Results: In this cohort of 1744 midlife women, higher mindfulness (MAAS) and lower stress (PSS-4) scores correlated independently with lower menopausal symptom (MRS) scores. On multivariable analysis, a significant interaction effect was observed between the MAAS and PSS-4 on the MRS, such that with higher PSS-4 scores, the magnitude of association between the MAAS and lower MRS scores was larger. Conclusion: Among midlife women, higher mindfulness and lower stress correlated with lower menopausal symptom scores independently. Among women experiencing more stress, the magnitude of association between mindfulness and lower menopausal symptom scores was greater, largely driven by psychological subdomain scores. Mindfulness may mitigate menopausal symptoms among midlife women.

A negative view of menopause: does the type of symptom matter?

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between the type of symptom and women's self-reported view of menopause. METHODS: The study was conducted at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN, between January 2006 and October 2014. Women aged 40-64 were included. Data from 1420 women were analyzed in a cross-sectional design. The Menopause Health Questionnaire was used for symptom assessment. Odds ratios (ORs) and population attributable risk (PAR) (OR × percent frequency) were calculated for each symptom. Logistic regression analyses were performed with the view of menopause as the dependent variable. RESULTS: Anxiety (2.34), depressed mood (2.24), irritability (2.22), vaginal itching (2.27), crying spells (2.1) and breast tenderness (2.08) were associated with highest odds of having a negative view of menopause. Highest PAR (population impact) symptoms were anxiety (22.27), weight gain (20.66), fatigue (20.28) and irritability (19.41). Hot flushes and night sweats, although common, were not associated with a negative view of menopause (OR 1.3 and 1.16; PAR 3.85 and 4.42, respectively). CONCLUSION: Mood symptoms, vaginal itching, weight gain, breast tenderness and fatigue, although less common than hot flushes, were noted to have greater association with a negative view of menopause. Specifically addressing these symptoms during menopausal consultation may improve patient satisfaction and outcomes.

Long-term health consequences of premature or early menopause and considerations for management.

AIM: To review the current evidence concerning the long-term harmful effects of premature or early menopause, and to discuss some of the clinical implications. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Narrative review of the literature. RESULTS: Women undergoing premature or early menopause, either following bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy or because of primary ovarian insufficiency, experience the early loss of estrogen and other ovarian hormones. The long-term consequences of premature or early menopause include adverse effects on cognition, mood, cardiovascular, bone, and sexual health, as well as an increased risk of early mortality. The use of hormone therapy has been shown to lessen some, although not all of these risks. Therefore, multiple medical societies recommend providing hormone therapy at least until the natural age of menopause. It is important to individualize hormone therapy for women with early estrogen deficiency, and higher dosages may be needed to approximate physiological concentrations found in premenopausal women. It is also important to address the psychological impact of early menopause and to review the options for fertility and the potential need for contraception, if the ovaries are intact. CONCLUSIONS: Women who undergo premature or early menopause should receive individualized hormone therapy and counseling.

Whole body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) tumour staging with integrated PET/CT colonography: technical feasibility and first experiences in patients with colorectal cancer.

AIM: The aim of this study was to implement an imaging protocol for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) colonography and to combine this protocol with whole body PET/CT tumour staging for a single whole body examination for routine clinical use. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A whole body PET/CT protocol for tumour staging and a protocol for PET/CT colonography were integrated into one examination. Fourteen prospective patients with suspected colorectal cancer underwent whole body PET/CT after aqueous bowel distension and pharmacological bowel relaxation. Colonoscopy and histopathology served as the standards of reference in all patients. RESULTS: The modified PET/CT examination detected all but one lesion in the colon. One additional lesion was detected in a patient with incomplete colonoscopy due to high grade luminal stenosis. One polyp with malignant conversion was identified with the modified PET/CT protocol. PET/CT colonography proved accurate in local lymph node staging and staged nine out of 11 patients correctly. Six additional extracolonic tumour sites were detected based on the whole body staging approach. CONCLUSION: Whole body PET/CT with integrated colonography is technically feasible for whole body staging in patients with colorectal cancer. Based on these initial diagnostic experiences, this integrated protocol may be of substantial benefit in staging patients with colorectal cancer, focusing on patients with incomplete colonoscopy and those with small synchronous bowel lesions.

Dark lumen MR colonography based on fecal tagging for detection of colorectal masses: accuracy and patient acceptance.

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance colonography (MRC) with fecal tagging has recently been investigated in clinical studies for the detection of polyps. We assessed fecal tagging MRC in a field trial. METHODS: Forty-two patients in a private gastroenterologic practice underwent MRC with barium-based fecal tagging (150 mL of 100% barium at each of 6 main meals before MRC) and conventional colonoscopy. Diagnostic accuracy of MRC and patient acceptance were assessed and compared with the respective results of conventional colonoscopy. RESULTS: Eighteen percent of all MRC examinations showed a remaining high stool signal in the colon that impeded a reliable inclusion or exclusion of polyps. On a lesion-by-lesion basis, sensitivities for polyp detection were 100% for polyps larger than 2 cm (n = 1), 40% for polyps between 10 and 19 mm, 16.7% for polyps between 6 and 9 mm, and 9.1% for polyps smaller than 6 mm. The main reason for the low acceptance of MRC was the barium preparation, which was rated worse than the bowel cleaning procedure with conventional colonoscopy. CONCLUSION: MRC with fecal tagging must be further optimized. The large amount of barium resulted in poor patient acceptance, and barium according to this protocol did not provide sufficient stool darkening. Other strategies, such as increasing the hydration of stool, must be developed.

Clinical differences between benign and malignant pheochromocytomas.

Most pheochromocytomas can be cured by resection. In view of the unfavourable prognosis for surgical therapy in cases of late tumour detection and malignant tumours, the aim of the present study is to differentiate between typical signs and symptoms of malignant versus benign pheochromocytomas. We investigated the records of 133 patients retrospectively (1967-1998). In cases of benign tumours (104 of 133, mean age 42+/-15.8 years) tumour size was 5.9+/-3.4 cm, and history was 47.4+/-75.4 months. 7.7% of the tumours were extraadrenal, and 77% had paroxysmal manifestations. The other 29 patients (mean age: 39.2+/-21.9 years) had malignant lesions (tumour size: 9.4+/-5.9 cm (p=0.0022); history: 7.4+/-5.6 months (p=0.0137); extraadrenal: 24.1% (p=0.0219); paroxysmal: 37.9% (p=0.0012)). Symptoms of patients with benign tumours were hypertension (80%), headaches (42.3%), sweating (30.8%), tachycardia (26%) and pallor (24%) (Malignant: Hypertension 46%, p=0.0873; headaches 11%, p=0.0008; sweating 11%, p=0.0196; tachycardia 14%, p=0.1961 and pallor 0%, p=0.0010). Abdominal pain and dorsalgia occurred more frequently in malignant pheochromocytomas (26% versus 7%, p=0.0014). Unusually short histories and extraadrenal localization appear to be suspicious for malignancy. The "typical" clinical signs and symptoms occur more frequently in patients with benign tumours and can therefore be regarded as typical signs of benign pheochromocytomas.

An assessment of diagnostic procedures preparatory to retroperitoneoscopic removal of adenoma in cases of primary hyperaldosteronism.

The goal of this study was to improve assessment of diagnostic measures for lateral localization of aldosterone-producing adrenal adenomas preparatory to retroperitoneoscopic removal, in view of the fact that this technique allows for only unilateral access. A retrospective study was carried out of the medical records of 64 patients (38 women, 26 men, average age 46.8+/-11.2) who underwent surgery at University Hospital, Münster, between 1969 and 1998. Seventeen of the 64 patients presented with hyperplasia and 47 had adrenal adenoma. In cases of hyperplasia, computerized tomography imaged a false-positive unilateral tumor 10 times, a false-negative 3 times, and a unilateral hyperplasia 1 time (ultrasonography: tumor 2 times, false-negative 3 times; 131I-Iodomethylnorcholesterol scintigraphy: tumor 5 times, false-negative 1 time, correct 1 time). In cases of adenoma, computerized tomography yielded accurate results 40 times, imaged a false-negative 2 times, and indicated the incorrect side 1 time (Ultrasonography: false-negative 12 times, correct side 9 times, incorrect side 1 time; 131I-Iodomethylnorcholesterol scintigraphy: correct side 19 times, false-positive (both sides) 5 times, negative 3 times, incorrect side 2 times). Venous sampling, which was carried out seven times, yielded accurate results six times, and failed technically one time. Venous sampling appears to be the method of choice for preoperative lateral localization. Thus, retroperitoneoscopic treatment of Conn's syndrome should not be carried out unless venous sampling is carried out first.