Assessment of depression and quality of life in women during menopause
Introduction: With the increase in life expectancy today, the duration of time women spend in menopause has also extended. Understanding women’s experiences and identifying the symptoms they encounter are crucial during this period. The main objective of this study was to identify which symptoms are more frequently observed in menopausal women presenting to primary care and to determine the impact of these symptoms on women’s depression levels and quality of life.
Methods: This study was conducted online and face-to-face with 400 menopausal women who voluntarily agreed to participate. Data were collected from Family Health Centers in Adana Province between January 1, 2023, and May 31, 2023. Participants were administered the Sociodemographic Data Form, the SF-36 Quality of Life Scale, the Beck Depression Scale (BDS), and the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS).
Results: The median age of the 400 participants was 54. The most common menopausal symptoms reported were hot flashes, sweating, and irritability, whereas the least common were heart problems and sexual issues. No statistically significant differences were found in the scale scores regarding marital status, having children, living arrangements, smoking status, or the type of menopause onset. The presence of a chronic illness was positively correlated with BDS and MRS scores, and negatively correlated with SF-36 scores. Women whose sexual relationships with their spouses were negatively affected post-menopause exhibited higher BDI and MRS scores, alongside lower SF-36 scores. Furthermore, a significant positive correlation was found between BDS and MRS scores, while SF-36 scores were negatively correlated with both BDS and MRS scores.
Conclusion: The symptoms experienced during menopause negatively impact women’s quality of life, physical and mental health. Family physicians, who need to approach individuals from a biopsychosocial perspective, play an important role in identifying and managing priority areas for the delivery of healthcare services for women’s health.
Keywords: Depression, menopause, menopause symptoms, quality of life, sexual relationship
References
- Ambikairajah A, Walsh E, Cherbuin N: A review of menopause nomenclature. Reprod Health. 2022 Jan 31;19:29.
- Jiao J, Hao J, Hou L, et al.: Age at natural menopause and associated factors with early and late menopause among Chinese women in Zhejiang province: A crosssectional study. PLoS One. 2024 Jul 16;19(7):e0307402.
- Kulkarni J, Gurvich C, Mu E, et al.: Menopause depression: Under recognised and poorly treated. Aust N Z J Psychiatr. 2024;58:695-704.
- Jia Y, Zhou Z, Xiang F, Hu W, Cao X: Global prevalence of depression in menopausal women: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Affect Disord. 2024; 358:474-82.
- Rautenberg TA, Ng SKA, Downes M: A cross-sectional study of symptoms and health-related quality of life in menopausal-aged women in China. BMC Womens Health. 2023; 23(1):563.
- Barati M, Akbari-Heidari H, Samadi-Yaghin, E et al. The factors associated with the quality of life among postmenopausal women. BMC Womens Health. 2021;May 18;21(1):208.
- Raczkiewicz D, Sarecka-Hujar B, Gujska JH, et al.: Quality of life, menopausal symptoms, insomnia and depression in peri- and post-menopausal women: A Cross-Sectional Study. Med Sci Monit. 2026;32:e951812.
- Kurt G, Öztürk GZ, Kurt GB: The correlation between symptoms in the menopausal period and life quality. Turk J Fam Pract. 2023; 27:77-87.
- Hays RD, Sherbourne CD, Mazel RM: The RAND 36-Item Health Survey 1.0. Health Econ. 1993;2:217–27.
- Koçyiğit. Form-36 (KF-36)’nın Türkçe versiyonunun güvenilirliği ve geçerliliği (1999). Accessed from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&cluster=12627159639192039913 on 25/01/2026.
- Beck AT, Ward CH, Mendelson M, Mock J, Erbaugh J: An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1961; 4:561–71.
- Sahin NH: Beck Depresyon Envanteri’nin üniversite öğrencileri için geçerliliği ve güvenilirliği (1989). Accessed from https://www.academia.edu/1472692/Beck_Depresyon_Envanterinin_%C3%BCniversite_%C3%B6%C4%9Frencileri_i%C3%A7in_ge%C3%A7erlili%C4%9Fi_ve_g%C3%BCvenilirli%C4%9Fi on 25/01/2026.
- Schneider HPG, Heinemann LAJ, Rosemeier HP, Potthoff P, Behre HM: The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS): reliability of scores of menopausal complaints. Climacteric. 2000;3:59–64.
- Can Gürkan Ö: Menopoz semptomları değerlendirme ölçeğinin Türkçe formunun güvenirlik ve geçerliliği (2005). Accessed from https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9M3s144AAAAJ&hl=tr on 25/01/2026.
- AlDughaither A, AlMutairy H, AlAteeq M: Menopausal symptoms and quality of life among Saudi women visiting primary care clinics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Int J Womens Health. 2015;7:645–53.
- Wieder-Huszla S, Szkup M, Jurczak A, et al.: Effects of socio-demographic, personality and medical factors on quality of life of postmenopausal women. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2014;11:6692–708.
- Karaçam Z, Şeker SE: Factors associated with menopausal symptoms and their relationship with the quality of life among Turkish women. Maturitas. 2007;58:75–82.
- Yong Z, Yang Y, Yang Y, et al.: Prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in women of different Ages – China, 2023–2024. China CDC Weekly. 2025;7(10):334-40.
- Chedraui P, Aguirre W, Hidalgo L, Fayad L: Assessing menopausal symptoms among healthy middle aged women with the Menopause Rating Scale. Maturitas. 2007;57:271–8.
- De Arruda Amaral ICG, Baccaro LF, Lui-Filho JF, Osis MJD, Pedro AO, Costa-Paiva L: Opinions and main sources of information about menopause among middle-aged Brazilian women. Menopause. 2019;26:1154–9.
- Scavello I, Maseroli E, Di Stasi V, Vignozzi L: Sexual health in menopause. Medicina. 2019;55:559.
- Souayeh N, Bettaieb H, Rouis H, Mbarki C, Hsayaoui N: (181) Female Sexuality During the Menopausal Transition: The Experience of Tunisian women. J Sex Med. 2024;21:Supplement 1.
- Farghaly Abdelaliem SM, Hassan NMM, Alqahtani A, et al.: Assessing the relationship between depressive symptoms and menopausal quality of life among academic women in Saudi Arabia. Healthcare (Switzerland). 2025;13(13):1557.
- Pawlak IE, Wolińska W, Mroczek B: Impact of climacteric and depressive symptoms on the quality of life of postmenopausal women. Family Medicine & Primary Care Review. 2016; 18:325–31.
- Park H, Kim K: Depression and its association with health-related quality of life in postmenopausal women in korea. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(11):2327.
- Fu JX, Luo Y, Chen MZ, et al.: Associations among menopausal status, menopausal symptoms, and depressive symptoms in midlife women in Hunan Province, China. Climacteric. 2020;23:259–66.
- Jenabi E, Fereidooni B, Khazaei S, Hamzehei R, Tapak L: The Relationship between depression and menopause symptoms: The PATH Model. Current Women s Health Reviews. 2020;17:92–8.
- Sijjil D, Zaidi SKZ, Manzoor S, Mahmood A, Fatima N, Sajjad Y: Correlation between menopausal symptoms and quality of life in post-menopausal women. Pakistan BioMedical Journal. 2025;8(7):14–19.
- Sharin AK, Senthil K, Elayaperumal S, Annadurai DB. Prevalence of menopausal complications and its impact on quality of life among postmenopausal women. Journal of Neonatal Surgery. 2025;14(5):2818.
- Li J, Liu F, Liu Z, Li M, Wang Y, Shang Y, Li Y: Prevalence and associated factors of depression in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry. 2024;24:431-.
- Szadowska-Szlachetka Z, Stasiak E, Leziak A, Irzmańska-Hudziak A, Łuczyk M, Stanisławek A, et al. Intensity of menopausal symptoms and quality of life in climacteric women. Menopause Review / Przegląd Menopauzalny. 2019;18(4):217-21.
- Sharami SH, Rafiei Sorouri Z, Farzadi S, Hosseinzadeh F, Etezadi A, Bab Eghbal S, Eslami-Kenarsari H: The association of sociodemographic factors and history of chronic diseases on menopausal symptoms: A cross-sectional study. Health Sci Rep. 2024;7:e2103.
- Saleh SA, Almadani N, Mahfouz R, Nofal HA, El-Rafey DS, Seleem DA: Exploring the intersection of depression, anxiety, and sexual health in perimenopausal women. Int J Womens Health 2024;16:1315–27.
- Jalali T, Bostani Khalesi Z, Jafarzadeh-Kenarsari F: The Association between sexual self-efficacy and the quality of life among menopausal women. J Menopausal Med. 2021;27:87–93.
- Pérez-Herrezuelo I, Aibar-Almazán A, Martínez-Amat A, Fábrega-Cuadros R, Díaz-Mohedo E, Wangensteen R, Hita-Contreras F: Female sexual function and its association with the severity of menopause-related symptoms. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2020;17:7235.
- Trento SRSS, Madeiro A, Rufino AC: Sexual function and associated factors in postmenopausal women. Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetricia. 2021; 43:522–9.
