Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To determine if there is a correlation between body mass index (BMI) and climacteric symptoms in postmenopausal women. METHODS: The study sample was composed of 109 postmenopausal women with a mean age of 57 ± 8 years, mean body mass index (BMI) of 30 ± 6 kg/m(2), and 8 ± 8 years after menopause. For the assessment of the climacteric symptoms, the Blatt-Kupperman Index (BKI), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), and the Cervantes Scale (CS) were used. Data analysis was performed through the Chi-squared test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the Bonferroni post hoc test, and multiple linear regression. The level of significance adopted was of p < 0.05. The statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, United States) software, version 26.0. RESULTS: The multiple linear regression showed a positive association (p < 0.01) between BMI values and menopause symptoms when adjusted for age and time after menopause in the 3 questionnaires used (BKI: B = 0.432; CS: B = 304; and MRS: B = 302). Regarding symptom scores, the obese women had higher mean scores (p < 0.05) when compared to eutrophic women (BKI = 28 ± 10 and 20 ± 10; and MRS = 20 ± 10 and 13 ± 7, respectively). In the Chi-squared analysis, 28% of obese women had severe symptoms and 46% had moderate symptoms, while only 1% and 46% of eutrophic women had these same symptoms. CONCLUSION: There is an association between BMI and climacteric symptoms, and overweight or obese women have more intense and moderate symptoms than eutrophic women.