Disorders of eating and body image during the menopausal transition: associations with menopausal stage and with menopausal symptomatology

Abstract

Objective: Recent reports from our laboratory and others suggest that the menopausal transition may represent a window of vulnerability for eating disorders in women. Here, we present new findings regarding this issue.

Methods: We surveyed 230 women aged 40-60 years using an anonymous questionnaire focused on eating-disorder and body-image symptomatology. We then compared groups of respondents based on (a) menopausal stage as assessed by World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and (b) menopausal symptomatology as assessed by the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS).

Results: WHO-defined menopausal stage (premenopausal, perimenopausal, and postmenopausal) showed no significant associations with eating and body-image measures. However, MRS scores showed strong associations with most measures of the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, as well as with questions regarding satisfaction with body image. These associations remained little changed even when removing the four psychological items from the MRS score and examining only the association of the MRS somato-vegetative and urogenital items with these outcome variables.

Discussion: Our data augment existing evidence that the menopausal transition may be associated with eating and body-image disturbances. However, reported menopausal stage, which is difficult to define reliably, may be less informative than menopausal symptoms as a predictor of disordered eating and associated symptoms.

Level of evidence: V-descriptive survey study.

Keywords: Body image; Disordered eating; Eating disorders; Menopause; Middle-aged women.