An umbrella systematic review of the effect of physical exercise on mental health of women in menopause

Abstract

Importance: The menopausal transition has been related to worsening mental health. The literature also points out that being physically active during menopause is associated with a favorable effect on climacteric symptoms, specifically on psychological aspects.

Objectives: The aims of the study are to analyze the effects of physical activity on mental health during menopause through an umbrella review and to evaluate the quality of the included Systematic Reviews and meta-analyses (MAs).

Evidence review: A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies and the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation was applied to assess the level of the evidence of the results. In addition, the effect size of the revised meta-analyses (MAs) was calculated.

Findings: A total of 9 systematic reviews/MAs were included, published between 2014 and 2020. In the A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews methodological quality assessment, 8 studies were classified as "high quality" and 1 as "low quality." In terms of quality of the evidence for each result through the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation classification, approximately 75% of the studies were classified as "moderate quality," 22.2% as "high quality," and 22.2% as "low quality," with the greatest bias concerning the high heterogeneity of the included studies. In addition, the studies showed low overlap. Despite the high heterogeneity, we can highlight the importance of the practice of physical activity by women in menopause, to prevent and/or reduce problems related to mental health.

Conclusions and relevance: There was a positive effect of the interventions on depression, however, with no difference between durations (short or long). Regarding stress, the interventions applied did not show a positive effect. The studies that investigated depression linked to anxiety presented conflicting results.