Background: The purpose of the present study was (a) to assess the relationship between physical activity and the intensity and duration of menopausal symptoms, (b) to investigate the relationship between physical activity and the four domains of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and (c) to assess the relationship between physical activity and chronic diseases.
Methods: This descriptive-analytical study that was conducted in Tabriz City, Iran. Data were collected in 2012 by personal home-based interviews, using structured questionnaires. All participants (n= 273), who were middle-aged (age range of 40-60 yr) were recruited from two of the 25 urban health service centers' clients, by clustered random sampling allocation.
Results: There was a positive significant relationship between Psychological, Social, and Environmental domains of HRQOL with physical activity (P<0.001). In addition, a negative significant relation was found between somatic complaints including sexual problems (P< 0.017) and vaginal dryness (P<0.030) as well as joint-muscular discomfort (P<0.018), and the level of physical activity. Diabetic (P<0.047) and women with history of heart disease (P<0.040) performed 2.670 and 3.548 hours more than who were not.
Conclusions: Regular physical activity would be effective in decreasing menopausal symptoms as well as improving healthy aging and also physical activity promotion as a part of healthy life style promotion programs needs to be improved in communities where women are physically inactive. In addition, women need to be informed about importance of physical activity on their life which it leads to feel healthy aging and pre and post- menopausal stages.
Keywords: Menopause; Physical exercise; Quality of life; Women.