State anxiety is associated with hormonal, cardiovascular, and sleep parameters in Finnish postmenopausal women

Abstract

Objective

To investigate how a range of variables, both physiological (sleep architecture, serum follicle-stimulating hormone (S-FSH), anthropometric and blood pressure measures) and non-physiological (stressful life events, education), are associated with symptoms of distress, anxiety, and depression from premenopause to postmenopause and at postmenopause.

Methods

We recruited 64 women (ages 45–47). Data were derived from an in-house questionnaire, the Brief Symptom Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, a sleep questionnaire, physiological measurements, and polysomnography at baseline and at ten-year follow-up.

Results

During the follow-up, an increase in weight was associated with an increase in anxiety as recorded by the Brief Symptom Inventory (p = 0.012, R² = 0.117). Cross-sectionally, at postmenopause, state anxiety was associated with an increase in blood pressure and S-FSH, delayed REM sleep, and the use of menopausal hormone therapy (p_STAI-S < 0.001, R² = 0.343). Distress and depressive symptoms were associated with stressful life events and a lower level of education but also with an increase in diastolic blood pressure and use of hormone therapy (p_BSI < 0.001, R² = 0.328 and p_BDI < 0.001, R² = 0.312). Sleep disruptions were associated with psychological symptoms but vasomotor symptoms were not.

Conclusions

The change in psychological symptoms during the follow-up was modest. At postmenopause, distress and depressive symptoms were associated with a range of physiological and non-physiological parameters, but state anxiety only with physiological parameters. At postmenopause, psychological symptoms were more sensitive to sleep disruptions than were vasomotor symptoms.