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Aim: To evaluate menopausal symptoms of women between 40 and 59 years old to assess the gravity of symptoms grouped by population type, through the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Search strategy: PUBMED and EMBASE articles were searched, with keywords "Menopause MRS". Selection criteria: English studies that assessed quality of life trough MRS were selected. Articles that had interventions as their main aim of research were excluded. Data collection and analysis: A database to collect country, year of publication, total score of MRS, and subscale score of MRS, was made for the selected articles. Data were presented in mean ± standard deviation. Main results: Ecuador had the highest total MRS score (18±10.6), and Nigeria the lowest (6.4±5.8). Colombia had the highest and lower urogenital score in two populations (6.2±1.3 in indigenous women and 0.8±1.7 in afro-descendant women, respectively), in two selected studies. MRS somatic (7.2±4.5) and psychological (6.9±4.8) score were the highest in the general population of Ecuador. Conclusions: A high variability in results was found, because of countries, and menopausal state. More studies are recommended to assess the different symptomatology in different ethnical and cultural populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have compared the impact of climacteric in life quality (LQ) in the different ethnic groups in Latin America. Objective: Evaluate the CV in postmenopausal Colombian women in three different ethnic groups. Material and Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done among healthy women aged between 40 and 59 years and who belong to Indigenous, Afrocaribbean or Hispanic ethnic groups. The assessed population is part of Life Quality in Menopause in Colombian Ethnic Groups Study (Cavimec). The instrument used to assess LQ was Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). Results: 579 menopausal women were studied, 153 Hispanic, 295 Indigenous, and 153 Afrocaribbean. Hispanic women were 55,3 (SD 3,3) years-old on average, had 6,4 (SD 3,5) years of school, they had been menopausal at 48,3 (SD 2,5) years old. Indigenous women were similar age to Hispanic women, but had less years of school (2,2 [SD 1,8], p<0,0001), and were older in their menopause time (49,5 [SD 3,0] years). Afrocaribbean women were younger (53,4 [3,3] years old, p<0,0001) and had less years of school (4,6 [SD 4,4], p<0,0001) than Hispanic women. Hispanic women have a better LQ (MRS score 8,6 [SD 5,7]) than Afrocaribbean women (13,7 [SD 7,0], p<0,001) or Indigenous women (14,7 [2,4]; p<0,0001). Afrocaribbean women had a greater psychological compromise (psychological score 5,9 [SD 2,9]) than Hispanic women (2,7 [SD 2,6], p<0,0001) or Indigenous women (3,1 [SD 1,6], p<0,0001); they presented a higher somatic symptoms (score 6,5 [SD 3,3], 4,6 [SD 2,9], and 5,3 [1,7], respectively; p<0,0001). By the other hand, Indigenous women had a greater urogenital symptomatology (score 6,2 [SD 1,3]) than Hispanic women (1,3 [SD 2,3], p<0,0001), or Afrocaribbean women (1,1 [SD 1,9], p<0,0001). Conclusion: Postmenopausal Hispanic women have less life compromise than Indigenous or Afrocaribbean women; these women present a greater severity in psychological and somatic symptoms. Indigenous women present more symptomatology in the urogenital area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]