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Introducción: la mayoría de los estudios sobre la sintomatología de la menopausia se han realizado entre mujeres caucásicas de la cultura occidental, lo que lleva a la inquietud de si sus hallazgos son aplicables a mujeres de otros grupos étnicos/raciales. Hay un creciente interés en estudiar el papel de la etnia/raza en los síntomas de la menopausia. Objetivo: revisar la literatura, identificando estudios que comparen los síntomas menopáusicos en diferentes etnias/razas. Materiales y métodos: se realizó una búsqueda electrónica en PubMed, Cochrane y SciELO con las palabras clave "menopause", "ethnicity" y "race". Se incluyeron estudios que compararan la presentación de síntomas climatéricos en diferentes etnias. Debido a la dificultad para la comparación de los resultados, no se incluyeron estudios realizados en una sola población étnica. Resultados: se identificaron 55 estudios, de los cuales 19 cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión. La prevalencia de los síntomas menopáusicos difirió entre los grupos étnicos y se observaron contrastes en la percepción y la experiencia de la menopausia entre las culturas. Conclusión: los resultados de estos estudios no apoyan un único síndrome menopáusico. El entendimiento de las diferencias entre los grupos étnicos puede mejorar la calidad de la atención en salud que se le brinda a la mujer y promover estilos de vida que contribuyan a disminuir su incidencia y severidad y mejorar la calidad de vida de la mujer.Introduction: most studies about the symptomatology of menopause have been done on Caucasian females living in western culture, leading to worry about whether their findings are really applicable to females from other ethnic/ racial groups. There is growing interest in studying the role of ethnic groups/race in the symptoms of menopause. Objective: reviewing the literature identifying studies comparing menopausal symptoms in different ethnic groups/races. Materials and methods: PubMed, Cochrane and SciELO databases were searched using the key words "menopause", "ethnicity", "race". Studies were included which compared the presentation of climacteric symptoms in different ethnic groups; studies carried out on a single ethnic population were not included due to the subsequent difficulty in comparing results. Results: 55 studies were identified, of which 19 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of menopausal symptoms differed between ethnic groups and differences were observed concerning the perception and experience of menopause amongst cultures. Conclusion: the results of these studies did not support a single menopausal syndrome. Understanding the differences between ethnic groups could improve the quality of healthcare attention being provided for females and promote lifestyles contributing towards reducing the symptoms' incidence and severity, thereby improving females' quality of life.

O câncer de mama é uma das neoplasias mais comuns entre mulheres. O diagnóstico e a terapia antineoplásica determinam repercussões sociais, econômicas, físicas, emocionais/psicológicas e sexuais. Os principais parâmetros empregados na avaliação dos resultados da terapia antineoplásica são a sobrevida livre de doença e a sobrevida global. Mais recentemente, a qualidade de vida (QV) tem sido considerada mais um desses parâmetros. Não existe consenso quanto à definição de QV. Porém, a maioria das definições contempla os aspectos multidimensional e subjetivo da QV. A identificação dos fatores relacionados à QV e a compreensão da forma como esses fatores contribuem para a percepção da QV são motivos de discussão, uma vez que o conceito de QV está diretamente relacionado ao contexto sociocultural em que o indivíduo está inserido. A idade ao diagnóstico, uso de quimioterapia, tipo de cirurgia, sintomas climatéricos, relacionamento conjugal e sexualidade são alguns fatores associados à QV de mulheres com câncer de mama. A QV associada a diferentes terapias antineoplásicas pode auxiliar pacientes e médicos na escolha da melhor modalidade terapêutica. Nesse sentido, o presente artigo revisa diversos aspectos da QV de mulheres com câncer de mama, apresentando e discutindo o estado atual do conhecimento sobre o tema.Breast cancer is one of the most common malignancies among women. Its diagnosis and treatment have social, economic, physical, emotional/psychological and sexual repercussions. The main parameters used to assess the results of anticancer therapy are disease-free survival and overall survival. More recently, quality of life (QOL) has been considered an additional parameter. No consensus exists about the definition of QOL. However, most definitions take into account multidimensional and subjective aspects of QOL. The identification of factors related to QOL and comprehension of how these factors contribute to the perception of QOL are reasons for debate, since the concept of QOL is directly related to the social and cultural context in which the individual is inserted. Age at diagnosis, chemotherapy, type of surgery, climacteric symptoms, relationship between the couple, and sexuality are several factors associated with QOL in women with breast cancer. QOL associated with different antineoplastic therapies may help patients and physicians choose the best therapeutic modality. Towards this end, the current article addresses various aspects of QOL of breast cancer women, and presents the state-of-the-art knowledge on the topic.

OBJETIVO: identificar fatores indicadores da sintomatologia climatérica. PACIENTES E MÉTODOS: estudo transversal de 254 mulheres pós-menopáusicas com idade entre 45 e 60 anos atendidas em Ambulatório de Climatério entre junho e outubro de 2002. Foram excluídas mulheres histerectomizadas ou sob terapia hormonal. As atitudes sobre a menopausa foram avaliadas por meio de instrumento construído a partir da adaptação de um questionário, constituindo-se de 11 questões referentes a atitudes positivas (vantagens) e 11 referentes a atitudes negativas (desvantagens) sobre a menopausa. Para a coleta de dados sociodemográficos e relacionados a variáveis reprodutivas e às condições de saúde da população estudada, utilizou-se questionário estruturado e previamente testado. A sintomatologia climatérica foi avaliada pelo índice de Kupperman e as atitudes sobre a menopausa por meio de instrumento específico. Os dados foram analisados pelo teste t de Student, análise de variância (ANOVA) e regressão linear múltipla. RESULTADOS: de modo geral, a sintomatologia climatérica foi leve em 28%, moderada em 42,3% e intensa em 30,7% dos casos. Os sintomas mais prevalentes foram a irritabilidade (87,1%), as artralgias/mialgias (77,5%) e a melancolia/tristeza (73,2%), ao passo que os mais intensos foram as ondas de calor, a irritabilidade e a insônia. Sintomas vasomotores foram referidos por 60,2% das entrevistadas. Mostraram-se indicadores da sintomatologia climatérica a cor, a atividade física regular e as atitudes com respeito a menopausa. A cor branca (p=0,02), a atividade física regular (p=0,04) e uma percepção positiva sobre a menopausa (p=0,01) associaram-se a sintomas climatéricos menos intensos. Em contrapartida, a percepção da menopausa como evento desvantajoso (atitude negativa) associou-se a pior sintomatologia climatérica (pPURPOSE: to identify factors associated with climacteric symptoms. METHODS: a cross-sectional study of 254 women aged between 45 and 60 years was carried out at the Climacterium Outpatient Clinic of Caxias do Sul University, RS, from June to October 2002. Women with previous hysterectomy or under hormonal therapy were excluded. The climacteric symptoms were evaluated by means of the Kuppermann index and the attitudes toward menopause by a specific questionnaire. Data were analyzed by Student's t test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression analysis. RESULTS: twenty eight percent of the women reported mild climacteric symtoms, whereas 42.3% reported moderate symptoms and 30.7%, intense symptoms. The most prevalent symptoms were: irritability (87.1%), arthralgias/myalgias (77.5%) and melancholy (73.2%), while the most severe were hot flushes in 60.2% of the women, irritability and insomnia. Attitudes toward menopause, skin color and physical activity were predictors of climacteric symptoms. Positive attitudes toward menopause (p=0.01), white color (p=0.02) and the habit of practicing physical activity (0.04) were associated with less intense climacteric symptoms. Negative attitudes toward menopause were associated with worse climacteric symptoms (p

Introduction: most studies about t he symptomatology of menopause have been done on Caucasian females living in western culture, leading to worry about whether their findings are really applicable to females from other ethnic/ racial groups. There is growing interest in studying the role of ethnic groups/race in the symptoms of menopause. Objective: reviewing the literature identifying studies comparing menopausal symptoms in different ethnic groups/races Materials and methods: PubMed, Cochrane and SciELO databases were searched using the key words "menopause", "ethnicity", "race". Studies were included which compared the presentation of climacteric symptoms in different ethnic groups; studies carried out on a single ethnic population were not included due to the subsequent difficulty in comparing results. Results: 55 studies were identified, of which 19 fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The prevalence of menopausal symptoms differed between ethnic groups and differences were observed concerning the perception and experience of menopause amongst cultures. Conclusion: the results of these studies did not support a single menopausal syndrome. Understanding the differences between ethnic groups could improve the quality of health-care attention being provided for females and promote lifestyles contributing towards reducing the symptoms' incidence and severity, thereby improving females' quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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