Reappraisal of the definition criteria for "Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause", and its effect on quality of life in Turkish postmenopausal women.

To reappraise the definition of Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM) and to evaluate the prevalence and effect of GSM on quality of life in Turkish postmenopausal women.

A multicenter, cross-sectional, and observational study was designed. Four hundred three postmenopausal women between the ages of 43-75 who attended Urology and Gynecology clinics between November 2019 and April 2020 were included.They were divided into two groups: Group I (GSM, n:288, 71.5%) and Group II (non-GSM, n:115, 28.5%). Demographic data, presence and intensity of genitourinary symptoms were recorded. The impact of menopause and urinary incontinence on quality of life was evaluated with the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) and the King's Health Questionnaire (KHQ).

The most common symptoms were vaginal dryness (66.2%), reduced lubrication (55.3%), and urgency (54.8%). Urinary incontinence was present in 39.2% of women. Worse quality of life in terms of psychosocial and sexual domains of the MENQOL was significant in Group 1 (p<0.001). Group 1 had significantly worse scores for all domains of the KHQ. Only the rate of patients with stress incontinence was higher in Group 1. However, the percentage of moderate and severe symptoms for all types of incontinence was higher in Group 1. Although the prevalence of GSM was 71.5% according to our definition, the percentage of patients previously visiting health-care professionals for their symptoms was low (52.8%).

Our findings show that urologists and gynecologists should question both symptom groups of postmenopausal women, even if patients do not bring up genitourinary symptoms.

Urology. 2020 Jul 27 [Epub ahead of print]

Ismail Selvi, Numan Baydilli, Dilek Yuksel, Emre Can Akinsal, Halil Basar

Department of Urology, Karabük University Training and Research Hospital, Karabük, Turkey. Electronic address: ., Department of Urology, Erciyes University Medical School, Kayseri, Turkey., Department of Gynecological Oncology, Etlik Zübeyde Hanım Gynecology Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey., Department of Urology, Health Science University Dr. Abdurrahman Yurtaslan Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.