Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Nov 16, 2023; 11(32): 7761-7769
Published online Nov 16, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i32.7761
Association between depressive mood and body image and menopausal symptoms and sexual function in perimenopausal women
Jia Ling, Yu-Hong Wang
Jia Ling, Yu-Hong Wang, Institute of Innovation and Applied Research in Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, Hunan Province, China.
Author contributions: Ling J and Wang YH contributed equally to this work; Ling J and Wang YH designed the study; Ling J contributed to the analysis of the manuscript; Ling J and Wang YH were involved in the data and writing of this article; and all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine.
Informed consent statement: Patients were not required to give informed consent to the study because the analysis used anonymous clinical data that were obtained after each patient agreed to treatment by written consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding the content, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yu-Hong Wang, PhD, Doctor, Institute of Innovation and Applied Research in Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, No. 300 Xueshi Road, Hanpu Science and Education Park, Changsha 410208, Hunan Province, China. ojhtgb000@163.com
Received: August 16, 2023
Peer-review started: August 16, 2023
First decision: August 31, 2023
Revised: September 19, 2023
Accepted: November 8, 2023
Article in press: November 8, 2023
Published online: November 16, 2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Perimenopausal is the period when women's ovarian function begins to decline before and after menopause. During this period, women experience a series of mental state changes, such as decreased hormone levels, decreased libido, and even female sexual dysfunction (FSD) in severe cases, which reduces their quality of life. Factors affecting the occurrence of FSD include physiological and non-physiological factors, among which physiological factors are uncontrollable. Therefore, it is particularly important to ascertain the related non-physiological factors that affect the occurrence of FSD for improving the quality of sexual life of perimenopausal women.

AIM

To investigate the mediating effect of depressive mood and body image on menopausal symptoms and sexual function in perimenopausal women.

METHODS

A total of 186 perimenopausal women were enrolled between January 2019 and January 2021 and divided into the FSD (134 cases) and control (52 cases) groups based on the presence and absence of FSD. Clinical data were compared between the two groups. FSD-related factors were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD), Body Image Scale (BIS), and Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) scores were compared among women with different FSD scores. The correlation of the MRS score with the BIS and HAMD scores and the mediating effect of the BIS and HAMD scores on the MRS score and female sexual function index (FSFI) were analyzed.

RESULTS

The HAMD and BIS scores were higher in the FSD group than in the control group, and the difference in monthly income between the two groups was statistically significant (all P < 0.05). Monthly income of < 2000 yuan [odds ratio (OR) = 26.586, P = 0.000], BIS score (OR = 1.590, P = 0.000), and HAMD score (OR = 1.884, P = 0.000) were independent risk factors for FSD. MRS scores were positively correlated with BIS and HAMD scores (r = 0.358 and 0.244, P = 0.000 and 0.001, respectively) and negatively correlated with FSFI scores (r = -0.433, P = 0.000). Body image and depressive mood had partial mediating effects, accounting for 39.90% of the total effect.

CONCLUSION

Depression and body image play mediating roles between menopausal symptoms and sexual function in perimenopausal women.

Keywords: Perimenopause, Depressive mood, Body image, Sexual dysfunction, Mediating effect

Core Tip: Depressive mood and body image partially mediate the relationship between menopausal symptoms and sexual function in perimenopausal women, accounting for 39.90% of the total effect. Understanding these mediating factors can help inform interventions targeting sexual dysfunction in this population.