{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,27]],"date-time":"2026-08-27T02:01:11Z","timestamp":1787796071637,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":30,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,12]],"date-time":"2023-09-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1694476800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: There is a lack of scientific evidence regarding the specific challenges faced by menopausal medical professionals in different work settings. This study aims to investigate the relationship between work environment and the menopausal quality of life (QoL) in physicians and nurses. Methods: This survey was conducted using the Menopausal Quality of Life Questionnaire (MENQOL) with a sample of 35 menopausal physicians and 95 nurses employed in health facilities in Astana and Kyzylorda cities, Kazakhstan. Results: Physicians reported a higher frequency of menopausal symptoms compared to nurses. The difference was statistically significant (p &lt; 0.05) for symptoms such as decreased productivity (60.00% vs. 38.20%), flatulence or gas pains (71.43% vs. 48.39%), weight gain (79.41% vs. 61.80%), changes in skin appearance (79.59% vs. 50.00%), and changes in sexual desire (58.82% vs. 33.70%). Physicians with managerial duties had a significantly higher occurrence of vasomotor symptoms compared to non-managerial physicians (mean 3.35 \u00b1 2.14 vs. 1.69 \u00b1 0.89) and also had a higher mean psychological score (mean 3.26 \u00b1 1.28 vs. 2.29 \u00b1 1.19). Conclusions: These findings reflect differences between the menopause effects related to work environment for doctors and nurses, and shed light on the specific challenges faced by them during menopause. In addition, it is important to consider socio-demographic and workplace-related factors in investigating their impact on the QoL.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20186744","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,12]],"date-time":"2023-09-12T21:41:12Z","timestamp":1694554872000},"page":"6744","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Unveiling the Role of the Work Environment in the Quality of Life of Menopausal Physicians and Nurses"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"given":"Gauri","family":"Bapayeva","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Academic Department of Women\u2019s Health, CF \u201cUniversity Medical Center\u201d, Turan Ave. 32, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3914-5154","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Milan","family":"Terzic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Academic Department of Women\u2019s Health, CF \u201cUniversity Medical Center\u201d, Turan Ave. 32, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"},{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"},{"name":"Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 300 Halket Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1324-7806","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuliya","family":"Semenova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5734-7468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio","family":"Sarria-Santamera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 020000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2805-8645","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arnur","family":"Gusmanov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 020000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2868-4497","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gulzhanat","family":"Aimagambetova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1543-2802","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonio Simone","family":"Lagan\u00e0","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vito","family":"Chiantera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties (PROMISE), University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy"},{"name":"Unit of Gynecologic Oncology, National Cancer Institute, IRCCS, Fondazione \u201cG. Pascale\u201d, 80131 Naples, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4309-0432","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nazira","family":"Kadroldinova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Talshyn","family":"Ukybassova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Academic Department of Women\u2019s Health, CF \u201cUniversity Medical Center\u201d, Turan Ave. 32, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kuralay","family":"Kongrtay","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9196-1496","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meruyert","family":"Abdukassimova","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karlygash","family":"Togyzbayeva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Clinical Academic Department of Women\u2019s Health, CF \u201cUniversity Medical Center\u201d, Turan Ave. 32, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sanja","family":"Terzic","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Nazarbayev University, Zhanybek-Kerey Khans Street 5\/1, Astana 010000, Kazakhstan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpobgyn.2022.03.003","article-title":"Menopause Transition: Physiology and Symptoms","volume":"81","author":"Talaulikar","year":"2022","journal-title":"Best Pract. Res. Clin. Obstet. Gynaecol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"419","DOI":"10.3109\/13697137.2010.507886","article-title":"Age of Menopause and Impact of Climacteric Symptoms by Geographical Region","volume":"13","author":"Palacios","year":"2010","journal-title":"Climacteric"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113","DOI":"10.1016\/0378-5122(95)00968-X","article-title":"The Demography of Menopause","volume":"23","author":"Hill","year":"1996","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wang, L.R., Zhang, R., Yang, Y., Sun, X.Y., Zhang, B.L., Zhu, H.Y., Luo, X.R., Ma, X.L., and Zhang, X.H. (2021). Severity and Factors of Menopausal Symptoms in Middle-Aged Women in Gansu Province of China: A Cross-Sectional Study. BMC Women\u2019s Health, 21.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-021-01531-x"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1108","DOI":"10.1097\/GME.0000000000000438","article-title":"Prevalence and Severity of Menopause Symptoms and Associated Factors across Menopause Status in Korean Women","volume":"22","author":"Yim","year":"2015","journal-title":"Menopause"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"497","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecl.2015.05.001","article-title":"Menopausal Symptoms and Their Management","volume":"44","author":"Santoro","year":"2015","journal-title":"Endocrinol. Metab. Clin. N. Am."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"278","DOI":"10.1080\/03630242.2017.1306604","article-title":"Factors Associated with General and Health-Related Quality of Life in Menopausal Transition among Women from Serbia","volume":"58","author":"Dotlic","year":"2018","journal-title":"Women Health"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1379","DOI":"10.1007\/s00404-015-3743-9","article-title":"Validation of the Menopause Rating Scale in Serbian Language","volume":"292","author":"Gazibara","year":"2015","journal-title":"Arch. Gynecol. Obstet."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"90","DOI":"10.1080\/13697137.2018.1535585","article-title":"Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire: Factor and Rasch Analytic Approach","volume":"22","author":"Gazibara","year":"2019","journal-title":"Climacteric"},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"1260","article-title":"Health Care System in Transition: Some Aspects of Financing","volume":"8","author":"Omirbayeva","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Adv. Res. Law Econ."},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"World Health Organization (2023, August 12). The World Health Statistics, Available online: https:\/\/www.who.int\/data\/gho\/publications\/world-health-statistics."},{"key":"ref_12","unstructured":"International Trade Administration (2023, August 12). Kazakhstan\u2014Country Commercial Guide, Available online: https:\/\/www.trade.gov\/country-commercial-guides\/kazakhstan-healthcare."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Agency for Statistics and Strategic Planning of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2023, August 12). Number of Medical Workers in Kazakhstan, Available online: https:\/\/www.gov.kz\/memleket\/entities\/stat?lang=ru."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"D\u2019Angelo, S., Bevilacqua, G., Hammond, J., Zaballa, E., Dennison, E.M., and Walker-Bone, K. (2023). Impact of Menopausal Symptoms on Work: Findings from Women in the Health and Employment after Fifty (HEAF) Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 20.","DOI":"10.1136\/OEM-2023-EPICOH.80"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kerasidou, A., and Horn, R. (2016). Making Space for Empathy: Supporting Doctors in the Emotional Labour of Clinical Care Ethics in Clinical Practice. BMC Med. Ethics, 17.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12910-016-0091-7"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"161","DOI":"10.1016\/0378-5122(96)01038-9","article-title":"A Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire: Development and Psychometric Properties","volume":"24","author":"Hilditch","year":"1996","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"239","DOI":"10.1016\/j.maturitas.2008.07.002","article-title":"The Validity of the Menopause Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire in Older Women","volume":"60","author":"Kulasingam","year":"2008","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"456","DOI":"10.3109\/13697137.2013.864269","article-title":"The Validity of the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire in Women with Type 2 Diabetes","volume":"17","author":"Hasan","year":"2014","journal-title":"Climacteric"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ruiz-Fern\u00e1ndez, M.D., Ortega-Gal\u00e1n, \u00c1.M., Fern\u00e1ndez-Sola, C., Hern\u00e1ndez-Padilla, J.M., Granero-Molina, J., and Ramos-Pichardo, J.D. (2020). Occupational Factors Associated with Health-Related Quality of Life in Nursing Professionals: A Multi-Centre Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 17.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17030982"},{"key":"ref_20","first-page":"21","article-title":"Quality of Life among Menopausal Women: A Community-Based Study in a Rural Area of West Bengal","volume":"8","author":"Karmakar","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Midlife Health"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Barati, M., Akbari-heidari, H., Samadi-yaghin, E., Jenabi, E., Jormand, H., and Kamyari, N. (2021). The Factors Associated with the Quality of Life among Postmenopausal Women. BMC Women\u2019s Health, 21.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12905-021-01361-x"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1016\/j.maturitas.2017.11.005","article-title":"Variation in Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety in Midlife Women by Menopausal Status","volume":"108","author":"Mulhall","year":"2018","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1016\/j.maturitas.2013.07.005","article-title":"Menopause and Work: An Electronic Survey of Employees\u2019 Attitudes in the UK","volume":"76","author":"Griffiths","year":"2013","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1186\/s40695-018-0036-z","article-title":"Work Outcomes in Midlife Women: The Impact of Menopause, Work Stress and Working Environment","volume":"4","author":"Hardy","year":"2018","journal-title":"Women\u2019s Midlife Health"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1005","DOI":"10.1111\/jocn.13393","article-title":"The Correlation between Quality of Life and Social Support in Female Nurses","volume":"26","author":"Sun","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Clin. Nurs."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.6118\/jmm.2016.22.1.31","article-title":"Quality of Life in Postmenopausal Women in Iran: A Population-Based Study","volume":"22","author":"Shobeiri","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Menopausal Med."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1016\/j.maturitas.2016.02.003","article-title":"Menopausal Vasomotor Symptoms Are Associated with Poor Self-Assessed Work Ability","volume":"87","author":"Gartoulla","year":"2016","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.2224\/sbp.1994.22.4.347","article-title":"Menopausal Women and the Work Environment","volume":"22","author":"High","year":"2006","journal-title":"Soc. Behav. Personal. Int. J."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/j.maturitas.2014.06.007","article-title":"Associations of Menopausal Symptoms with Job-Related Stress Factors in Nurses in Japan","volume":"79","author":"Matsuzaki","year":"2014","journal-title":"Maturitas"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1314","DOI":"10.1590\/S0104-11692011000600006","article-title":"Quality of Life in Perimenopausal Women Working in the Health and Educational System","volume":"19","author":"Membrive","year":"2011","journal-title":"Rev. Lat. Am. Enfermagem"}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/20\/18\/6744\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T20:49:29Z","timestamp":1760129369000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/20\/18\/6744"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,12]]},"references-count":30,"journal-issue":{"issue":"18","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,9]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph20186744"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph20186744","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,12]]}}}