Objective: This cross-sectional research intended to study associations between metabolic health, psychological parameters and reproductive factors of post-menopausal women.
Methods: A pilot study was conducted with 25 Rajput women aged 35 - 60 years from the rural population of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. As indicators of metabolic health, body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio, percentage of total body fat, blood sugar level, and blood pressure were considered. Using standardised methods, anthropometric measurements (such as height, weight, and circumferences) and physiological measurements (such as blood pressure) were taken of each participant. Standardized questionnaires such as the Menopausal Rating Scale (for menopausal symptoms and health related quality of life) and the Cognitive – Assessment Rating Scale were utilised to gather information regarding psychological parameters. As reproductive factors, gravidity, age at first pregnancy, number of miscarriages, and age at menopause were considered. The statistical analysis was carried out with help of IBM - SPSS 26.0.
Results: Body fat distribution, defined by ratio of waist-to-hip circumferences (WHR), was most strongly related to body mass index (BMI). It was also significantly related with risk of diabetes. The cognitive level was significantly and positively related to Blood Pressure (r= 0.473**, p = 0.005). Similar trend was observed for Menopausal Rating Scale (for menopausal symptoms and HRQoL) with Gravidity (r= 0.312*, p= 0.05) and no. of miscarriages (r= 0.317**, p = 0.047). However, no association could be observed for reproductive factors and the metabolic health parameters.
Conclusion: Both the number of pregnancies and miscarriages a woman has can effect the menopausal symptoms and HRQoL. In addition, both high blood pressure and the symptoms of menopause are independent risk factors that can affect a woman's cognitive function in this population.
