ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND PREVALENCE OF POSSIBLE OSTEOPOROTIC CHANGES IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN IN YEREVAN BASED ON DATA OF THE ECOS-16 QUESTIONNAIRE.

The aim of the study was to conduct approximate assessment of the prevalence of osteoporotic changes and evaluate quality of life (QoL) in postmenopausal women using ECOS-16 questionnaire in Yerevan city. The cross-sectional survey was conducted for data collection among 196 postmenopausal women. The research material about QoL was collected using ECOS-16 questionnaire. The sample was randomly selected through a two-stage cluster sampling from the population of women served by five policlinics of Yerevan. The majority of surveyed women (70.3%) were in age group under 60. Slightly more than half of the study participants (57.7%) had higher education and worked (59.2%). Almost two thirds of respondents were married (65.3%). Half of the respondents (51.0%) noted their income at the subsistence level. 71.9%±3.21 of women reported back pain for a long time. The scores of all the scales of ECOS-16, as well the total score were significantly higher in women who reported chronic back pain, indicating a lower quality of life for them. Women in age group under 60 years old, as well as women indicating absence of risk factors at workplaces, had significantly higher quality of life. A statistically significant difference was also observed between groups of women based on such social and demographic characteristics, as marital status, and average monthly income level. Pairwise comparison of groups based on these characteristics revealed a higher quality of life among married women compared to widows (p=0.043) and among women with income higher and at the subsistence level compared to the group of women with income below the subsistence level (p= 0.010). Poor QoL was associated with low self-reported health status and presence of chronic diseases in women. Pairwise post-hoc analysis showed lower level of QoL in the study participants with a below average/low level of health compared to both, those with above average (p<0.001) and average (p<0.001) level of health. QoL was also lower in women with four or more chronic diseases compared to both, women without chronic diseases (p=0.001) and the group of women with 1-3 diseases (p=0.001). The prevalence of chronic back pain, which was considered as one of the manifestations of undiagnosed osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, was quite high. The scores calculated for all dimensions of ECOS-16 questionnaire, as well the total score indicated lower quality of life among women reported chronic back pain compared to those who did not have such a health problem. Age older 60, spouse's demise, income below the subsistence level, smoking, presence of risk factors at workplace, as well as poor self-reported health status, and presence of chronic diseases were the factors negatively affected the QoL of surveyed women.