by Kristen Monaco
Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
February 15, 2017
Among post-menopausal women, involvement in an exercise program was beneficial to overall quality of life, according to a study done in Spain.
The three-group, mixed design study reported a significant improvement in quality of life global score among the exercise-intervention group, compared with baseline (average impairment reduction of 16%, P<0.001), stated Débora Godoy-Izquierdo, PhD, of the University of Granada, and colleagues.
Based on four domains in the Cervantes Scale, the intervention group also reported improvements in vasomotor symptoms (C-VAS 7.14 baseline versus 6.12 post-intervention), general health status (C-HEA 11.52 versus 9.48), and the aging and health category (C-AGE 11.81 versus 9.71), following a 20-week exercise program, they wrote in Menopause.
The participants successfully maintained these improvements throughout the 12-month follow-up period, the authors noted.
“Growing evidence indicates that an active lifestyle with regular exercise enhances health, quality of life, and fitness in postmenopausal women,” stated JoAnn V. Pinkerton, MD, executive director of the North American Menopause Society in a press release. “Documented results have shown fewer hot flashes and improved mood and that, overall, women are feeling better while their health risks decrease.”
Compared with the sedentary group, the participants exposed to the exercise program reported better scores of all health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures in the study, including mental well-being, sexuality, and intimate relationships.
Godoy-Izquierdo’s group explained that previous studies have been largely “inconclusive,” presenting “contradictory findings” in regards to post-menopause HRQoL. They noted that the goal of the study was “to determine the immediate and longer-term changes in HRQoL, and cardio-metabolic and fitness outcomes derived from adherence to regular exercise among previously sedentary postmenopausal women.”
The 166 participants, ages 45-64, who had been in post-menopause for a minimum of 1-year, were recruited for the study from gynecology clinics in Granada. They were randomized into three groups: intervention (n=80), sedentary control (n=86), or the active control (n=68).
The intervention participants were exposed to three, 1-hour per week supervised exercise sessions for 20 weeks, in combination with a psychological intervention promoting behavior change through “cognitive-behavioral self-monitoring and self-regulation skills.”
Fitness experts developed the program, which was based off current international guidelines. The sedentary control participants were instructed to continue a sedentary lifestyle through the study, while the active control participants were instructed to continue with regular exercise.
The researchers measured fitness levels using the EUROFIT battery test at follow-up sessions 3-months and 12-months post-intervention. Only 66.3% of the intervention group completed all measures by the 12-month follow-up session. HRQoL were assessed through the Cervantes Scale.
The authors reported that for cardiovascular factors, systolic blood pressure exhibited improvements after the 20-week program (12.38 baseline versus 11.70 post-intervention), but nearly returned back to baseline by the 12-month follow-up (12.08). Despite initial improvements, similar patterns were reported for BMI status, total weight, and waist circumference during the follow-up period.
The authors noted that the findings support the idea of exercise as a “consequence, safe, non-drug” alternative treatment method for vasomotor symptoms stemming from menopause, without the use of medical intervention such as hormone replacement therapy.
“Menopause has become a period during which many women take the opportunity to change their lifestyle by adopting preventive and well-being-promoting activities focused on a ‘healthy living plans’ that includes healthy eating, regular exercise, and maintenance of an active family and social life,” the authors explained. “This finding may explain why 40% to 60% of women report engaging in exercise to improve vasomotor complains; notably, this proportion is even higher than that reported for women in premenopausal stages.”
Study limitations included the small sample size, short intervention period, and high drop off rate throughout the study. However, the authors pointed out that high adherence rates were seen among the intervention group during the exercise program.
“We were unable to control for the effects of the health promotion intervention mainly because adherence to it was voluntary among sedentary and active participants, and not all participants were fully committed to it, or their attendance was based on their personal interest,” they wrote.
Future research with more comprehensive control measures would be helpful in investigating the full range of benefits that exercise can have regarding cardiovascular and HRQoL factors, they stated.
The study was funded by Spanish government grants.
Godoy-Izquierdo and co-authors disclosed no relevant relationships with industry.