Factors Affecting the Quality of Life in Climacteric Women in Manisa Region

Objectives: To determine the factors affecting the severity of menopausal symptoms and the quality of life among women living in Manisa, a western city of Turkey. Patients and Methods: After statistical estimation of the sample size reflecting the whole population, 268 climacteric women (mean age 50.7±6.6 years; range 40 to 60 years) with menopausal symptoms were investigated by sociodemographic question-naire, menopause rating scale (MRS), and Quality of Life Scale (WHOQOL-BREF-TR) in Celal Bayar University Hospital. Results: Almost 1/3 of women had no knowl-edge on menopause. The MRS scores of women were inversely correlated with Physical Health, Psychological well-being, Social Relationship domains of quality of life. Educational level, meno-pausal knowledge, participation in decision-making in the family and economic status positively affect-ed most domains of quality of life, whereas being married and having high BMI scores had negative effects. Conclusion: In climacteric women, quality of life was negatively affected by the severity of menopausal symptoms, low education level, limited menopausal knowledge, and being over-weight.