PHYSICAL-ACTIVITY AND THE MENOPAUSE EXPERIENCE - A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

A randomly selected community cohort of 2000 Australian born women age d 45 to 55 were interviewed on the telephone and information obtained on their health and well-being. These women were divided into pre-, pe ri-, natural and surgical menopausal groups on their menstrual history . A physical activity questionnaire was sent to 1181 women in the firs t three of these groups. These questionnaires were completed and retur ned by 61.6% of the women. The response rate in all groups was signifi cantly associated with the years of education, employment status, body mass index (BMI) and self-rated health of the participants. The aim o f the study was to test the hypothesis that physical activity is a maj or contributor to health and well-being by establishing the relationsh ips between physical activity and certain health outcomes, such as men opausal symptoms, psychological well-being, self-rated health and BMI in this cohort of mid-life women. The inter-relationship between physi cal activity and other variables, including menopausal status, interpe rsonal stress, health related and preventative health behaviours was e xamined. Levels of physical activity were significantly associated wit h better self-rated health, lower BMI measurements, moderate alcohol i ntake and self-breast examination. There was no significant associatio n between levels of physical activity, psychological well-being and wo men's experience of symptoms during the natural menopause transition.