Quality of sleep and fatigue in women with premature ovarian failure

There have been studies and anecdotal reports about worsening sleep quality and increasing fatigue in women near menopause or having reached menopause. According to a new study, the quality of sleep tends to be lower in women with premature ovarian failure (POI) and receiving the same hormone treatment, compared to women with normal ovarian function.

The study entitled "Quality of sleep and fatigue in women with premature ovarian failure receiving hormone therapy: a comparative study" was published in the journal Menopause, the journal of the North American society on menopause (NAMS).

The researchers explain that nearly half of women in menopause or the approach of menopause suffer from sleep disorders. These may include symptoms of insomnia, difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep or waking up too early. In addition, there are symptoms of physical pain or mood disorders accompanied by fatigue and reduced work capacity. Some of these symptoms may be badociated with menopause and its symptoms, but not all sleep problems can be explained, say the researchers.

Brazilian researchers have examined sleep patterns and fatigue in women with primary ovarian failure. Premature menopause means stopping early menstruation and premature ovarian failure refers to irregular and occasional periods over a few years due to inadequate ovarian function. Although premature menopausal women do not become pregnant, those with premature ovarian failure have a low risk of becoming pregnant.

The authors wrote:[Primary] Ovarian failure leads to physical and psychological effects resulting from hypoestrogenism, such as loss of fertility, bone loss, increased cardiovascular risk, psychological disorders, badual alteration and even earlier risk of death. Treatment must minimize these impacts. One of the seemingly unknown or unknown aspects is the impact of early hypoestrogenism on sleep quality and fatigue, as well as the extent to which HT can act on these aspects. "

This latest study shows that Brazilian women with premature ovarian failure and also receiving hormone therapy are more likely to have poor sleep quality and may take longer to fall asleep. They have a high degree of fatigue, found the study using tools such as fatigue index. Researchers in the study noted that these women were more likely to use sleep medications compared to older women and having complete ovarian function.

Dr. Stephanie Faubion, Medical Director of NAMS, said in a statement: "This study shows that women with POIs have poor quality of sleep despite the use of hormonal therapy. Another interesting finding of the study is that the total sleep quality in women with POI was directly related to the number of children they had and that it was overall similar to the sleep quality in women without POIs. This is indicative of the magnitude of the problem with regard to sleep disturbances and important and often unknown factors that contribute to sleep complaints, being more common in women than in men. "

The authors of the study, Cristina Benetti-Pinto, Camila Menezes, Daniela Yela and Tania Cardoso, wrote that they included 61 women in their study with premature ovarian failure who were undergoing hormone therapy as well as 61 women with normal ovarian function. The second group was the control group. Participants in both groups were matched for age so that they were separated by less than two years. The average age of women in both groups was about 35 years old.

To evaluate the quality of sleep, the team used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and fatigue badessment, and used the Chalder fatigue scale. The results showed that sleep scores were similar overall in both groups but that the sleep latency score was worse in women with premature ovarian failure. This meant that they took longer to fall asleep than women with normal ovarian function. In addition, the use of sleeping pills was more likely in women with ovarian failure (scores were 1.28 and 0.85 respectively in the POI and control groups). The fatigue index revealed a higher fatigue score in women with ovarian failure (5.25 vs. 3.49 in controls).

The authors wrote: "Our results show that women with POI receiving HT have poor sleep quality, but that it looks like that of women of the same age with preserved ovarian function. however, the former had a higher rate of fatigue. Variables directly related to ovarian failure, such as duration of diagnosis or duration of treatment, were not related to sleep; however, it was found that the higher the number of children, the better the quality of sleep was degraded. They add that all women evaluated for the treatment of premature ovarian failure should be asked about the quality of their sleep and their fatigue, and that steps needed to correct them adopted.