Menopause research in Latin America

Abstract

For 15 years, the Collaborative Group for Research of the Climacteric in Latin America (REDLINC) has been conducting research on several topics including age of menopause, metabolic syndrome, quality of life and climacteric symptoms, sexual dysfunction, poor quality of sleep and insomnia, and use of menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) in the general population and among gynecologists. Examples of data to have emerged for this region include the age of menopause (49 years), a high prevalence of metabolic syndrome (42.9%), and a new waist circumference cut-off value for the Latin American population (88 cm). Sexual dysfunction, poor quality of life, and sleep disorders have a prevalence of over 50%, with obesity and sedentary lifestyles affected importantly. MHT use is still low (12.5%), lack of prescription the most important reason for not using it, and gynecologists use MHT for themselves but do not recommend it often to their patients. The prevalence of alternative therapy use, recommended by physicians, is high.

Chinese abstract

15年来, 拉丁美洲的更年期研究协作小组 (REDLINC)一直在研究几个主题, 包括绝经年龄、代谢综合征、生活质量和更年期症状、性功能障碍、睡眠质量差、失眠及一般人群和妇科医生中更年期激素疗法(MHT)的使用。该区域已出现的数据包括绝经年龄(49岁)、代谢综合征的高患病率(42.9%)和拉丁美洲人口腰围的新截断值(88厘米) 。性功能障碍、生活质量低下和睡眠障碍的患病率超过50%, 其中肥胖和久坐的生活方式影响重大。MHT的使用率仍然较低(12.5%), 缺乏处方是不使用MHT最重要的原因, 妇科医生自己使用MHT, 但不经常向患者推荐。内科医生推荐的替代疗法的使用非常普遍。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• Latin America
• research
• quality of life
• sleep disorders
• climacteric symptoms

Conflict of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Source of funding

None.