Email a Friend
Print ArticleMenopause Health Center
This article is from the WebMD News Archive
Women May Walk Off Menopause Stress
Jan. 3, 2008 -- Chalk up another perk from physical activity: less stress for women as they transition to menopause.
Here are the highlights from a new study on stress and physical activity in women before, during, and after menopause:
- Physically active women report less stress than inactive women.
- After menopause, physically active women report less stress, anxiety, and depression than inactive women.
The researchers' advice: If you're active, keep it going. And if you're not active, get started.
"These results suggest that maintaining or increasing physical activity during the menopausal transition period and postmenopause may assist in reducing a variety of psychological symptoms including anxiety, stress, and depression," write Temple University's Deborah Nelson, PhD, and colleagues.
Stress and Menopause Study
Nelson's team studied 380 women for eight years, starting when the women were 42 years old, on average.
When the study began, the women were premenopausal. During the study, they provided blood samples and reported their stress, anxiety, depression, and menopausal symptoms (such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, or decreased interest in sex) 10 times and noted their physical activity every two years.
Every little bit of activity counted, ranging from vigorous exercise to climbing stairs and walking a few city blocks, even if they didn't consider it a workout.
By the end of the study, 20% of the women had reached menopause (meaning they hadn't had a period in more than a year) and 18% were close to that stage.
How Much Activity?
Some women were more active than others. Here's a quick look at their calories burned, based on a walking pace of 4 miles per hour:
- The most active women walked for 1.5 hours, five times per week.
- The women in the middle of the pack walked for 38 minutes, five times per week.
- The least active women walked for 16 minutes, five times per week.
Activity paid off in terms of stress management. The women in the two most active groups reported less stress throughout the study than the least active women. After menopause, activity also brought less anxiety and depression.
Physical activity didn't affect the women's hot flashes or other physical symptoms of menopause.
The study appears online in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. If it inspires you to get active, check in with your doctor first as a precaution.
del.icio.us
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
Most Popular
WebMD Special Sections
Ob-Gyn Laura Corio talks about the importance of exercise during menopause.
