Prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Australian women at midlife: a systemic review

Aim

To systematically review the published data for the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in Australian women.

Method

A comprehensive and systematic literature search was done using six databases to extract all
English-language, peer-reviewed studies that contained information on the prevalence of menopausal
symptoms among women living in Australia. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using a risk-of-bias
tool specifically designed for the systematic review of prevalence studies.

Results

Eight independent studies met our inclusion criteria. There was no consistent pattern of vasomotor,
psychological, physical or sexual symptom prevalence for the studies that reported symptoms across the
menopausal stages. The ranges of the prevalences for the various outcomes were wide. A high level of bias
was observed related to both external and internal validities for the included studies.

Conclusion

The available data for the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Australian women are not sufficient to allow conclusive findings. A large, appropriately sampled study using a validated questionnaire is needed to establish the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in Australian women.

Gartoulla P, Islam MR, Bell RJ, Davis SR, Climacteric 2014 17: 529-539