Anxiety and Depression Predicted Quality of Life during Menopause

Background: Depression and anxiety are common during menopause and may affect the quality of life (QoL) during menopause. Objective: This study aims to assess the potential predictivity of depression and anxiety with quality of life (QoL) during the postmenopausal period. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 285 postmenopausal women in Tehran- Iran. Quota sampling was used to recruit eligible women from health centers in Tehran. The tools for data collection were four questionnaires: demographic, WHQOL-BREF, Beck depression, and Speilberger questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS-V23 by conducting Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression. Results: The average age and duration of menopause of the participants were 55.10±3.91 years old (Mean±SD) and 5.90±4.38 years, respectively. Mild to severe anxiety and depression were found among 84.6 and 55.8 percent of the participants, respectively. There was a negative and significant correlation between QoL and all its dimensions with depression and anxiety scores (p < 0.001). There was a significant correlation between QoL and the education level of the woman and her husband, income sufficiency, the number of children, and housing status (p < 0.001). Multiple linear regression model showed QoL is predicted by anxiety (B=-0.82, p < 0.001) and depression (B=-0.47, p < 0.001) as well as income sufficiency (B=2.26, p <0.001) and husband’s educational level (B=1.87, p < 0.017) during menopause. Conclusion: Depression and anxiety are common complications during menopause that affect the women's QoL. Therefore, the promotion of psychological health to reduce depression and anxiety should be considered for future health plans for improving QoL during menopause.