Twelve-week exercise training and the quality of life in menopausal women – clinical trial

INTRODUCTION The menopause transition is associated with decreased health functioning. About 80-90% of women experience mild to severe physical or physiological menopause-related complaints per year when approaching menopause. Physical activity may reduce some climacteric symptoms and improve the quality of life. AIM OF THE STUDY Aim of the study was to investigate the influence of a 12-week training programme on the quality of life (QoL) in menopausal-aged women living in a rural area. MATERIAL AND METHODS Participants were 80 women aged 40-65 years and divided into two randomly selected groups in training sessions (exercising group, n = 40 and control group, n = 40). SF36 was used to assess the quality of life in both groups before and after 12 weeks. Exercising women participated in training session 3 times a week. Each 60-minute exercise session included warming-up exercises, walking, stretching, strengthening exercises with an elastic band and cooling down exercises. RESULTS A non-significant positive difference in all SF36 domains in the exercising group was observed. The results of the study showed a statistically significant higher QoL in the exercising group compared to the control group after 12-week training in two domains: vitality and mental health. The improvement in the quality of life in the study group was 0.19 points (role limits - physical domain, least change) and 4.96 (vitality domain, most change). CONCLUSIONS Controlled and regular exercise for 12 weeks was significantly correlated with a positive change in vitality and mental health. Sedentary women should consider modification of their lifestyle to include physical activity as it leads to improvement of their quality of life.