Menopause is a dynamic period of transition to reproductive ageing, resulting in menopausal symptoms with variable intensity, which affect women's daily life and psychosocial well-being. Purpose: To investigate the quality of life of menopausal women with diabetes mellitus and its correlation with the intensity of menopausal symptoms. A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted on 157 menopausal women with diabetes who completed three questionnaires: (a) a sociodemographic and clinical data questionnaire, (b) the Utian quality of life (UQOL) scale questionnaire, and c) the Symptom Scale Klaas Heinenmann's Menopause Rating Scale (MRS). The mean age of the participants was 52.4 years (SD = 3.5 years). More than half of the women (53.5%) had type 1 diabetes, while the largest percentage, 94.9%, was receiving medication. The main comorbidities observed in menopausal women with diabetes were hypertension (44.6%), thyroid diseases (38.9%), and hyperlipidemia (35.7%). The sample presented a low-to-moderate quality of life (mean value 68.3, SD = 15.5). The quality of life of menopausal women with diabetes appeared to be greatly reduced by the intensity of menopausal symptoms (p < 0.001) and coexisting comorbidities. According to the multivariable linear regression, as the age of menopausal women increased, their quality of life decreased (p = 0.001). Conclusions: As the intensity of menopausal symptoms negatively affects the quality of life of women with diabetes, the education of women should be a matter of high priority in primary health care. It is imperative to develop strategies not only to prevent but also treat women's menopausal symptoms.
Keywords: Diabetes mellitus; Menopausal symptoms; Quality of life; Menopausal women; Menopause.
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