Pilar Orgaz, Pablo Bermejo, Pedro J. Tárraga and Miguel A. Tricio
Background: Evaluating health-related quality of life is knowing the impact a disease has on patients’ perception of their well-being. Health perception worsens with age and an increasing number of chronic diseases, which occurs with metabolic syndrome, whose prevalence reaches 40-50% after menopause. Thus, knowing the repercussion of this disease on life´s quality will permit to adopt strategies to improve the health results. Objective: Determining the health perception of menopausal women with metabolic syndrome and the factors implicated. Methods: Cross-sectional study in Primary Health Care in the province of Cuenca (Spain). By random sampling, 400 menopausal women aged ≥45 years with metabolic syndrome (NCEP-ATP III) were selected. Survey SF-12 was used to evaluate physical and mental health´s general aspects. Results: Health perception was regular for 52% but good for 40.5%. The mean score of the physical summary component was below the mean for the Spanish population, while the mental component was over the mean for patients over 65 years. ANOVA showed significant differences for the physical summary component for age (p<0.001). Women in the 45-54 age groups obtained a better result for this component than those aged over 65. No differences were found for age groups in the mental component. Conclusions: Menopausal women with metabolic syndrome have a regular health perception being the physical health worse than the mental one. Physical health is better in younger women with studies, without obesity, diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis or bronchial pathology. Mental health is better in women without hypertriglyceridaemia or psychic disease.
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