Quality of life in postmenopausal women with risk of osteoporosis in the Police General Hospital

Abstract

To measure quality of life (QOL) in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, using Qualeffo41 and to examine factors influencing quality of life in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis. A cross-sectional descriptive study investigated quality of life in 45-year-old and older postmenopausal women with low bone mineral density (BMD) (≤ -2.5 standard deviations (S.D.) below normal peak bone mass) or were diagnosed as an osteoporosis or taking osteoporosis drug. A total of 134 subjects were recruited from the Police General Hospital during December 2009 to March 2010. The interview-administered questionnaire consists of 4 parts which are demographic and clinical characteristics, quality of life, factors in health concerning and factors in treatment. The mean, standard deviation, range and multiple regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. Quality of life assessment was performed using the Qualeffo41 (Thai version) which express in values ranging from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the best and 100 represents the worst quality of life. Results showed that the mean (±S.D.) total QOL score of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis was 34.86 (±15.67). In each domain, the result showed that the score of pain domain was 30.34 (±25.27), physical function domain was 36.82 (±21.52), social activities domain 44.53 (±22.35), general health perception domain was 44.47 (±18.53) and mental domain scored was 24.60 (±15.59). The patient's QOL was affected by four predictor variables which are 1) occupation, 2) duration of menopause, 3) exercise, and 4) dietary calcium and protein intake. Duration of menopause related to worse QOL in the patients. While exercise and dietary calcium and protein intake related to better QOL in the patients. Thus, getting more exercise or consuming more calcium and protein diet is recommended in order to have better quality of life.