Impact of Healthy Lifestyles on Quality of Life in Women During the Menopausal Transition

Authors

Keywords:

climacteric woman; healthy behaviors; quality of life; biological dimensions; psychological dimensions.

Abstract

Introduction: The climacteric phase is a stage of middle age where women experience physical and psychological changes that can affect their quality of life. Objective: determine the influence of healthy behaviors on the quality of life of climacteric women.

Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted, involving 369 women aged between 40 and 55 years who were not undergoing hormone replacement therapy and did not have secondary osteoporosis. Two questionnaires were applied to evidence the healthy behaviors and quality of life of the participants.

Results: It was found that 28,18 % of the surveyed women consumed nutritious foods, 18,4 % engaged in physical activity, 29 % took care of their personal appearance and felt satisfied with themselves, 24,12 % expressed their feelings, and 13,5 % reported having a good quality of life. By applying the Chi-square statistical test, a statistically significant relationship was found between healthy behaviors and quality of life.

Conclusions: The quality of life of climacteric women in Huancayo tends to be average or poor. Irregular physical activity, inconsistent consumption of nutritious foods, variable self-esteem and limited expression of emotions are contributing factors to this situation.

Keywords: climacteric woman; healthy behaviors; quality of life; biological dimensions; psychological dimensions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Dennerstein L, Smith AM, Morse C. Psychological well-being, mid-life and the menopause. Maturitas. 1994;20(1):1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-5122(94)90095-7

2. Beltrán-Salazar AL, Ramírez-Leyva DH, Blanco-Hernández CR, Garibaldi-Badilla V, Terrazas-Zazueta E, Ochoa-Citlaly M. Factores asociados al síndrome climatérico en mujeres del sur de Sonora. Aten Fam. 2021;28(4):238-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/fm.14058871p.2021.4.80590

3. Taebi M, Abdolahian S, Ozgoli G, Ebadi A, Kariman N. Strategies to improve menopausal quality of life: a systematic review. J Educ Health Promot. 2018;7(1):93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_137_17

4. Rathnayake N, Alwis G, Lenora J, Mampitiya I, Lekamwasam S. Effect of Health-Promoting Lifestyle Modification Education on Knowledge, Attitude, and Quality of Life of Postmenopausal Women. BioMed Res Int. 2020;2020(1):3572903. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3572903

5. Elavsky S, McAuley E. Personality, menopausal symptoms, and physical activity outcomes in middle-aged women. Pers Individ Dif. 2009;46(2):123-8. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2008.09.014

6. Blümel JE, Fica J, Chedraui P, Mezones-Holguin E, Zuñiga MC, Witis S, et al. Sedentary lifestyle in middle-aged women is associated with severe menopausal symptoms and obesity. Menopause. 2016;23(5):488-93. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000000575

7. Åberg E, Kukkonen I, Sarpila O. From double to triple standards of ageing. Perceptions of physical appearance at the intersections of age, gender and class. J Aging Stud. 2020;55:100876. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2020.100876

8. Brown WJ, Ford JH, Burton NW, Marshall AL, Dobson AJ. Prospective study of physical activity and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women. Am J Prev Med. 2005;29(4):265-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2005.06.009

9. Mehta M. Causes of anger amongst middle-aged women. Int J Adv Innov Res. 2022 [acceso 11/09/2024];9(3):168-70. Disponible en: https://scholar.google.com.cu/scholar?q=Mehta+M.+Causes+of+anger+amongst+middle-aged+women.&hl=es&as_sdt=0&as_vis=1&oi=scholart

10. Geng Y, Gu J, Zhu X, Yang M, Shi D, Shang J, et al. Negative emotions and quality of life among adolescents: A moderated mediation model. Int J Clin Health Psychol. 2020;20(2):118-25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijchp.2020.02.001

11. Lopera-Vásquez JP. Calidad de vida relacionada con la salud: exclusión de la subjetividad. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva. 2020;25(2):693-702. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/1413-81232020252.16382017

12. Liu T, Chen S, Mielke GI, McCarthy AL, Bailey TG. Effects of exercise on vasomotor symptoms in menopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Climacteric. 2022;25(6):552-61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2022.2097865

13. Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS). Alimentación Sana. 2022 [acceso 11/09/2024]. Disponible en: https://www.who.int/es/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet

14. Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS). Actividad Física. 2020 [acceso 15/09/2024]. Disponible en: https://www.paho.org/es/temas/actividad-fisica

15. Corrêa AB, Bardella MC, Silva AP, Moreira MM, Leite LFPA, Moraes C. Effect of physical activity on sleep in women experiencing vasomotor symptoms during menopause: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Maturitas. 2025;108271. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.maturitas.2025.108271

16. Statista Research Department. Esperanza media de vida al nacer en América Latina y el Caribe en 2023, por región y género (en años). 2024 [acceso 11/10/2024]. Disponible en: https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=ZJ

17. Banco Mundial. Población, mujeres – Latin América & Caribbean. 2022 [acceso 21/09/2024]. Disponible en: https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.IN?locations=ZJ

18. Ayala-Peralta FD. Estrategias de manejo durante el climaterio y menopausia. Guía práctica de atención rápida. Rev Peru Investig Materno Perinat. 2020;9(2):34-41. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33421/inmp.2020204

19. World Medical Assocition Declaration of Helsinki: Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. JAMA. 2013;310(20):1-95. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2013.281053

20 Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática (INEI). Censos Nacionales 2007. XI de Población y VI de Vivienda. Disponible en: https://censos1.inei.gob.pe/Censos2007/redatam/

21. Beltrán A, Ramírez D, Blanco C, Garibaldi V, Terrazas E, Ochoa-Citlaly M. Factores asociados al síndrome climatérico en mujeres del sur de Sonora. Atención Familiar. 2021;28(4):238-44. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22201/fm.14058871p.2021.4.80590

22. Trujillo-Muñoz PJ, Sánchez-Ojeda MA, Rodríguez-Huamán EC, Mezyani-Haddu K, Hoyo-Guillot I, Navarro-Prado S. Effects of Physical Exercise on Symptoms and Quality of Life in Women in Climacteric: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Healthcare. 2025;13(6):644. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13060644

23. Noll P, Campos C, Leone C, Zangirolami-Raimundo J, Noll M, Baracat EC, et al. Dietary intake and menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women: a systematic review. Climacteric. 2021;24(2):128-38. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13697137.2020.1828854

24. Costa JG, Rodrigues RM, Puga GM, Cheik NC. Does obesity aggravate climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women? Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2022;44(6):586-92. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0042-1745789

25. Medrano-Ureña MR, Ortega-Ruiz R, Benítez-Sillero JD. El Papel de la Autoeficacia y la Condición Física en la Sostenibilidad de la Actividad Física en Mujeres Adultas de Mediana Edad. Retos. 2023;49:701-12. DOI: https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v49.98105

26. Marín-Jiménez N, Ruiz-Montero PJ, De la Flor-Alemany M, Aranda P, Aparicio VA. Association of objectively measured sedentary behavior and physical activity levels with health-related quality of life in middle-aged women: The FLAMENCO project. Menopause. 2020;27(4):437-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000001494

27. Leite RR, Caldeira AP, Rocha JSB, Rossi-Barbosa LAR. Clustering of behavioral risk factors for chronic noncommunicable diseases in climacteric women. Einstein (São Paulo). 2022;20:eAO6153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31744/einstein_journal/2022AO6153

28. Da Costa Pimenta W, Santos-Brant-Rocha J, Prates-Caldeira A, Araújo-Veloso-Popoff D, Maia-Santos V, Murça-de-Souza JE, et al. Abdominal obesity and association with sociodemographic, behavioral and clinical data in climacteric women assisted in primary care. PLoS ONE. 2020;15(8):e0237336. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237336

29. Caicedo-Loor JV, Alcocer-Díaz S. Síndrome metabólico en mujeres en etapa reproductiva y de climaterio y su asociación con riesgo cardiovascular. Pentaciencias. 2023;5(3):551-66. DOI: https://doi.org/10.59169/pentaciencias.v5i3.5

30. Sánchez-Cabrero R, Carranza-Herrezuelo N, Novillo-López MÁ, Pericacho-Gómez FJ. La importancia de la apariencia física durante el proceso de envejecimiento en España. Interrelación entre la satisfacción corporal y vital durante la madurez y la vejez. Actividades, Adaptación y Envejecimiento. 2019;44(3):210-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01924788.2019.1651187

31. Lee YK, Lee MS. Appearance management effect and self-conquest of physical and psychological changes in middle-aged women’s lifespan. Art Human Open Acc J. 2020;4(3):75-9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15406/ahoaj.2020.04.00157

Published

2026-04-15

How to Cite

1.
Quiliano Navarro MR, Quiliano Navarro MP. Impact of Healthy Lifestyles on Quality of Life in Women During the Menopausal Transition. Rev Cubana Med [Internet]. 2026 Apr. 15 [cited 2026 Apr. 16];65. Available from: https://revmedicina.sld.cu/index.php/med/article/view/5076

Issue

Section

Original articles