SYMPTOMS AT THE MENOPAUSAL AND PREMENOPAUSAL YEARS - THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH INSULIN, GLUCOSE, CORTISOL, FSH, PROLACTIN, OBESITY AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS SEXUALITY

The symptoms of 81 premenopausal and 70 menopausal women were studied to determine the association with obesity, attitudes towards sexuality (ATS), and diverse hormone values: fasting and postprandial glucose ( FG, PG) and insulin (FI, PI), cortisol, prolactin, follicle-stimulatin g hormone (FSH). The mean age of the women studied was 49.1 years. The frequency of symptoms was 35.4% for depression, 34.3% for nonspecific symptoms of depression (NSSD), 38.6% for empty nest syndrome (ENS), a nd 42.3% for anxiety. NSSD, ENS, FSH and cortisol levels all possessed higher values at late-menopausal stage. A multiple regression analysi s revealed the following results; NSSD was associated to ATS (negative ); sleep alterations were correlated to prolactin, FSH, PI/PG, FI/FG a nd waist/hip ratio; FSH was associated with both a decreased sexual in terest and depression. In the study of hormone levels it was found tha t cortisol, insulin and FI/FG were associated with ATS; PI, cortisol, FI/FG and PI/PG were associated with body mass index (BMI) and FSH; pr olactin and FI/FG were associated with age. We concluded that: (1) dat a indicative of insulin resistance correlated to both depression and s leep alterations; (2) overweight is related to NSSD, sleep alterations , and hormonal changes.