[Quality of life in women with arterial hypertension in the climacteric period].

This study was designed to compare quality of life (QL) in women with arterial hypertension (AH) and with normal arterial pressure in the climacteric period. It included 146 postmenopausal women with AH (age median 57 years). The control group comprised 146 women without AH matched by age and duration of menopause. QL was assessed from the results of the SF-36 questionnaire and the severity of climacteric syndrome (CS) based on the modified menopausal index (MMI), pain in the back, joints, heart and headache, and also with the use of the visual analog scale (VAS). The severity of CS in patients with AH, headache, and cardialgia was much greater compared with controls. AH was associated with limitations as assessed by physical functioning (P = 0.004), physical role functioning (P = 0.026), role-emotional functioning (P = 0.0001), and psychic health scales P = 0.011). At the same time, AH was unrelated to substantial limitations as apparent from pain (P = 0.715) and social functioning (P = 0.052) scales. Estimates of general health status in women with AH were significantly lower than in its absence (P < 0.001). To summarize, AH considerably deteriorates QL in postmenopausal women.