Higher Physical Activity Levels May Help Alleviate Menopause Symptoms

Certain types of cancer treatments can cause women to have early menopause. For some women receiving cancer treatment, menopause may come on strong and be severe. A new study has found that moderate to vigorous physical activity may help alleviate menopause symptoms in women previously treated for cancer.

Participants in the study included 290 women how had previously been treated for cancer. The researchers used the International Physical Activity Questionnaire – Short Form to evaluate physical activity levels and the Green Climacteric Scale (GCS) to evaluate menopause symptoms at baseline, week 12, and week 24.

Participants who reported medium to high levels of physical activity had lower GCS scores than women who reported low levels of physical activity. Total average GCS scores were 1.02 and 1.61 lower in women who had moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity levels compared to those with low levels 

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Queensland.It was published online ahead of print on November 23, 2020 in the journal Menopause.