Twelve-week exercise training and the quality of life in menopausal women – clinical trial

• Main Authors: Jolanta Dąbrowska, Magdalena Dąbrowska-Galas, Magdalena Rutkowska, Bogdan Adam Michalski
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Termedia Publishing House 2016-03-01
• Series: Menopause Review
• Subjects: quality of life; physical activity; exercises; SF36
• Online Access: https://www.termedia.pl/Twelve-week-exercise-training-and-the-quality-of-life-in-menopausal-women-clinical-trial,4,27179,1,1.html

Introduction: The menopause transition is associated with decreased health functioning. About 80-90% of women experience mild to severe physical or physiological menopause-related complaints per year when approaching menopause. Physical activity may reduce some climacteric symptoms and improve the quality of life. Aim of the study was to investigate the influence of a 12-week training programme on the quality of life (QoL) in menopausal-aged women living in a rural area. Material and methods: Participants were 80 women aged 40-65 years and divided into two randomly selected groups in training sessions (exercising group, n = 40 and control group, n = 40). SF36 was used to assess the quality of life in both groups before and after 12 weeks. Exercising women participated in training session 3 times a week. Each 60-minute exercise session included warming-up exercises, walking, stretching, strengthening exercises with an elastic band and cooling down exercises. Results : A non-significant positive difference in all SF36 domains in the exercising group was observed. The results of the study showed a statistically significant higher QoL in the exercising group compared to the control group after 12-week training in two domains: vitality and mental health. The improvement in the quality of life in the study group was 0.19 points (role limits – physical domain, least change) and 4.96 (vitality domain, most change). Conclusions : Controlled and regular exercise for 12 weeks was significantly correlated with a positive change in vitality and mental health. Sedentary women should consider modification of their lifestyle to include physical activity as it leads to improvement of their quality of life.