Stress and certain gastrointestinal disorders are associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms, according to a new study.
- With the increase in life expectancy, women can spend 30 to 40% of their lives post-menopause.
- Researchers have discovered that there is a correlation between intestinal disorders, stress and the intensity of menopausal symptoms.
- Specifically, they identified an association between stool consistency and hot flashes.
Insomnia, mood swings, hot flashes… there Menopause brings its share of annoying symptoms. For some women, they even turn out to be particularly important to the point of impacting their daily life. The severity of these disorders could depend on their intestines according to a study published in the journal Menopause.
Menopause: a link between stress, intestinal disorders and severity of symptoms
As sex hormone levels and the quality of the gut microbiota change with age, researchers at Vilnius University wondered whether there is a relationship between menopausal symptoms, stress and gastrointestinal problems in women in their forties.
To try to answer this question, scientists analyzed the medical records of nearly 700 women with an average age of 50, for approximately 3 years. They concluded that stress and certain gastrointestinal factors, including stool frequency and consistency, were associated with menopausal symptoms. Specifically, they noticed that participants suffering from constipation had flashes of heat more important than those with a normal transit.
“This study shows a potential association between bowel habits and menopausal symptoms. These findings highlight how the loss of estrogen around the time of menopause can affect multiple body systems and lead to a myriad of symptoms that may be interrelated. The physiological mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear and require further study.”explains in a communicated the dr. Stephanie Faubionmedical director of The Menopause Societyorganization publishing the scientific journal.
BMImental health, physical activity: other factors highlighted
The Lithuanian researchers point out in their article that with the increase in life expectancy, some women can spend 30 to 40% of their life in post-menopause. It is therefore important to know the signs of menopause, their mechanisms and their impacts on their health and well-being.
In addition to intestinal disorders and stress, the team was able to highlight, during its work, other factors linked to the severity of menopausal symptoms. They are also correlated with physical activity, body mass index, diagnosis of depression or anxiety disorder. However, they acknowledge that more research is needed to confirm the relationships they discovered.
