PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN MENOPAUSE AND SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS: A PILOT STUDY

Background
The aim of this study was to assess the level of physical activity of women in the menopausal period in relation to selected sociodemographic variables, such as place of residence, marital status and age.

Material and methods
The study included 75 women (mean age: 53.11±5.38 years) in the pre- and postmenopausal period. A short version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-SF) was used to assess the level of activity (MET-min/week) and sedentary time. Group differences were analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test, and multiple regression examined the influence of sociodemographic factors.

Results
Median total physical activity ranged from 611 to 1,934 MET-min/week across marital status categories, from 132 to 1,474 across residential settings and was highest among women born between 1991-2000 (1,546 MET-min/week). Although these differences were not statistically significant (p>0.05), a trend toward higher activity among younger and rural women was observed. Regression analysis confirmed that age, marital status and place of residence were not significant predictors of total physical activity, explaining about 20% of the variance (R²=0.201, Adj. R²=0.064).

Conclusions
Physical activity among menopausal women was generally low to moderate and not significantly related to basic sociodemographic factors. Nevertheless, the results suggest higher activity in younger and rural participants. Given the small sample size and pilot nature of the study, the findings should be interpreted with caution.