Impact of Menstrual Status on Musculoskeletal Pain

  Objective  To explore the impact of menstrual status on musculoskeletal pain in healthy women.

  Methods  A total of 697 generally healthy women aged 35 to 64 years were recruited from a community in Beijing. Data were collected by face-to-face interview with a questionnaire including social and demographic features, menstrual status, frequency of musculoskeletal pain (rarely, occasionally, or frequently) during the last two weeks at neck, lower back, knee, and other parts of the body. Frequent pain was considered severe and its potential relevant factors were analyzed.

  Results  In all the subjects, 33.4% complained of frequent lower back pain, 31.0% frequent knee pain, 29.7% frequent neck pain, and 25.6% pain at other parts. The prevalence of musculoskeletal pain was higher in postmenopausal women than in premenopausal women(P < 0.01); early postmenopausal women had most frequent musculoskeletal pain, while the frequency declined in late postmenopausal period. The prevalence of neck pain and lower back pain increased during the menopausal transition period and was not associated with age. The prevalence of knee pain increased with body mass index(BMI) and age (OR=1.085, 1.050). Overweight and obesity were risk factors for knee pain in women. Logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratio of knee pain increased in obese women(BMI ≥ 28 kg/m²) compared with women with normal BMI(< 24 kg/m²)(OR=2.256).

  Conclusions  Menopause may be an important factor for musculoskeletal pain in women, the association of musculoskeletal pain with age and BMI also should be considered.