Menopause causes health damage to women including insomnia
The symptoms of menopause are most likely caused by sleep disorders in some women, according to a study from South Korea.
"Sleep disorders are the most common complaint during pre and postmenopausal periods," said lead study author Hyun Young-bak of the National Health Research Institute in Chonbuk.
"Short-term sleep and sleep disorders are linked to adverse health effects such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, cancer-related deaths, diabetes, depression and declining quality of life," he told Reuters Health by e-mail.
During the menopause and beyond, women are more likely to have trouble sleeping, such as insomnia, wake up more than once during the night and wake up early on their own, the study team wrote on Feb. 20. Symptoms of menopause contribute to those sleep disorders.
Although hormonal changes may affect sleep, other factors may play a role, the team said.
To find out whether there was a link between the physical and psychological symptoms of menopause and sleep problems, Buck and his colleagues analyzed data from 634 women aged 44 to 56 who had participated in a study that included an annual medical examination at the clinics of Kanbuk Samsung Hospital in Seoul and Suwon between two years 2012 and 2013.
The study also investigated the differences between women in terms of age, BMI, chronic diseases, smoking, social status, income, education, unemployment and physical activity. Depression and stress.
Overall, 19% of the women in the study reported sleep disorders and those with sleep problems were most likely to have high blood pressure and cholesterol. They were older, non-smokers, less educated, and most of them Be without a husband or companion and more prone to depression and stress.
"As a sleep psychologist, I think many women have sleep disorders because of menopause symptoms," said Eric Prather, a psychologist at the University of California, San Francisco, who did not participate in the study.
He added that the research team may also have to test other factors related to sleep quality, including changes in hormone levels, mood disorders and other factors associated with the state of health and lifestyle