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Menopause is associated with various physiological symptoms which can be related to the most common health problems in menopausal women and a decrease in their quality of life. Determinants of experiencing menopausal symptoms are complex because they include reproductive, environmental, lifestyle and social factors. The aim of this study is to assess whether selected reproductive, lifestyle and health factors are associated with the occurence of hot flushes, night sweats, palpitations, dizzy spells and/or pins and needles in the hands and feet . A total of 346 women aged between 39 and 59 years living in Slovakia were recruited for this cross-sectional survey. Data on menopausal symptoms and potential confounders were collected by questionnaire. Logistic regression analysis revealed an independent effect of peri-/postmenopausal status and depressed mood on the manifestation of hot flushes. Analysis results for night sweats were significant for age, depressed mood and current smoking at p<0.05 while, of all input parameters, only age and depressed mood were significant predictors of palpitations. Logistic regression also revealed the effect of sport and depressed mood on dizzy spells. Depressed women, (B=0.677) and those who did not participate in sporting activities (B= -0.969) suffered more often from dizzy spells. Pins and needles in hands and feet were influenced by peri-/postmenopausal status (B=1.036), by higher numbers of pregnancy (B=0.260) and depressed mood (B=0.505). Potentially modifiable factors, such as current smoking, lack of sport, depressed mood and the number of pregnancies can predispose a woman to a higher prevalence of some of these physiological menopausal symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increase in the number of cancer survivors, there is a need to understand the effect of physical activity (PA) on cancer prognosis. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate methods used to assess PA and energy expenditure (EE) in exercise interventions following cancer diagnosis and to evaluate the outcomes of these interventions. A literature search of studies up to and including June 2003 was conducted. To be included in the review, studies had to examine the effects of a PA intervention following cancer diagnosis. Forty-three studies met the selection criteria; 21 were randomized controlled trials and 22 were quasi-experimental study designs. The studies vary in terms of the purpose, subjects, study design, variables measured, and level of detail reported in the study manuscript. A focus of most studies was on the feasibility of performing PA interventions in cancer survivors and the effect on psychosocial processes. Very few studies examined the effect of PA on physiological or biological processes, and no studies examined the effect of PA on cancer recurrence or survival. Overall, the studies consistently demonstrated that PA has a positive effect on psychosocial processes, including fatigue and nausea. Many challenges remain pertaining to the study of PA following cancer diagnosis to include subject recruitment and compliance, delivery and assessment of PA, and the measurement of study variables. Future studies are needed that use a randomized controlled design with process, short-term impact, and long-term outcome measures to identify a dose-response effect of increased PA and physical fitness on cancer recurrence and survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]