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Objective To assess vulvovaginal symptoms and urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women. Secondarily to evaluate factors related to the severity of vulvovaginal symptoms and the internal consistency of the used tools. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the Spanish language version of the 21-item Vulvovaginal Symptoms Questionnaire (VSQ) and the 3-item International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire (ICIQ-SF) were applied to 122 postmenopausal Spanish women aged 45 to 75 years. Results Mean age of the whole sample was 59.5 ± 4.9 years; 89.3% had natural menopause, 77.9% reported vulvovaginal symptoms, 54.9% had urinary incontinence, 54.1% were sexually active, and 77.0% currently had a partner. Calculated Cronbach's alpha coefficients were 0.87 and 0.88 for the VSQ and the ICIQ-SF, respectively. Multiple linear regression analysis determined that total VSQ scores (more severe vulvovaginal symptoms) were positively correlated with female age, parity, surgical menopause, being sexually active, economic problems, phytoestrogen use, and more severe urinary incontinence. An inverse correlation was found with urban residency and time since menopause onset. Conclusions Internal consistency of the VSQ and the ICIQ-SF was good in this postmenopausal sample in which age, sexual activity, urinary incontinence, drug use, and other personal aspects were important covariates determining the severity of vulvovaginal symptoms.

Objective: This study aims to assess resilience, depressed mood, and menopausal symptoms in postmenopausal women. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 169 postmenopausal women aged 48 to 68 years were asked to fill out the Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (WYRS), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), and a questionnaire containing personal and partner sociodemographic data. Results: The median [interquartile range] age of participating women was 54 [10.0] years. Among the women, 55.6% had increased body mass index, 76.9% had a partner, 17.8% were current smokers, 14.2% had hypertension, 25.4% used psychotropic drugs, and 13.0% used hormone therapy. Forty-five percent of the women had depressed mood (CESD-10 scores Q10), and 34.9% had severe menopausal symptoms (total MRS scores Q17). Less resilience (lower WYRS scores) correlated with depressed mood (higher CESD-10 scores) and severe menopausal symptoms (higher total, psychological, and urogenital MRS scores). Multiple linear regression analysis determined that WYRS scores positively correlated with exercising regularly and inversely correlated with CESD-10 scores (depressed mood). CESD-10 scores positively correlated with somatic and psychological MRS subscale scores and inversely correlated with WYRS scores (less resilience). Conclusions: In this postmenopausal sample, depressed mood and participation in regular exercise correlate with lower and higher resilience, respectively. Depressed mood is associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms (somatic and psychological).

The aim of this study was to assess sexual function and related factors (menopause-related quality of life and mood included) in mid-aged Spanish women.This was a cross-sectional study in which 179 sexually active women (40-65 y old) completed the six-item Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI-6), the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and a sociodemographic questionnaire containing personal and partner data.Median age was 51 years; 55.3% of the women were naturally postmenopausal, 47.5% had increased body mass index, and 6.7% had hypertension. Currently, 4.5% and 19.6% of the women used hormone therapy and psychotropic drugs, respectively. A total of 87.7% had a stable partner; 1.3% of partners abused alcohol and 8.3% had erectile dysfunction. Of the surveyed women, 36.9% displayed total FSFI-6 scores of 19 or less (lower sexual function); 40.2%, mood morbidity (total HADS scores ≥11); and 23.5%, impaired quality of life (severe total MRS scores ≥17). Cronbach α for the FSFI-6 was 0.91. Total FSFI-6 scores positively correlated with female and partner education and inversely with female age and scores on the MRS and the HADS (total and subscale values). Multiple linear regression analysis found that total FSFI-6 scores positively correlated with partner educational level and inversely (worse sexual function) with female age, partner issues (alcohol abuse and erectile dysfunction), and total HADS and urogenital and somatic MRS scores.In this mid-aged Spanish sample, as assessed with a short and consistent tool, lower sexual function was related to menopausal and mood symptoms and several women and partner factors. Further research using this instrument is warranted.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess quality of life (QoL) in a cohort of mid-aged Colombian women using the Cervantes Scale (CS). Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 1,739 healthy women aged 40 to 59 years were asked to simultaneously fill out the CS and a questionnaire containing general female demographic data. The CS includes four domains: menopause and health (15 items), psychological (9 items), sexuality (4 items), and couple relationship (3 items). In addition, the menopause and health domain includes three subdomains: vasomotor symptoms, health, and aging. The global CS score may range from 0 to 155 (from better to worse QoL). Results: Multiple linear regression determined that CS scores (global and domains) significantly increased (therefore, worse QoL) with age, menopause status, body mass index, parity, race, and marital and working status. The CS displayed a high internal consistency as Cronbach > values for the global and domain scores were above 0.80. Conclusions: This is the first study to report QoL assessment using the CS among mid-aged Latin American women from Colombia in whom age, menopause status, body mass index, and other personal factors influenced QoL.