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Table 2 Symptom prevalence data.

From: Age-specific symptom prevalence in women 35–64 years old: A population-based study

 

Age groups

p across age *)

 

35–39

40–44

45–49

50–54

55–59

60–64

 

n

426

514

602

541

418

490

 

Increasing prevalence

       

   Insomnia

28.1

30.0

32.0

34.1

36.2

38.4

<0.005

   Leg pain

27.0

28.8

30.7

32.7

34.7

36.7

<0.005

   Joint pain

27.0

28.5

30.1

31.7

33.3

35.0

 

   Eye problems

16.2

20.7

24.3

26.2

26.3

24.6

<0.005

   Impaired hearing

9.4

10.9

12.6

14.6

16.8

19.3

<0.0001

Stable prevalence

       

   Difficulty relaxing

37.1

40.0

41.3

41.0

39.1

35.8

 

   Restlessness

35.3

34.4

33.5

32.5

31.6

30.7

 

   Overweight

32.5

32.8

33.2

33.5

33.8

34.1

 

   Coughing

23.7

23.7

23.8

23.9

24.0

24.0

 

   Breathlessness

16.6

17.1

17.5

18.0

18.5

18.9

 

   Diarrhoea

16.1

13.3

11.7

11.2

11.5

12.7

 

   Chest pain

12.2

12.3

12.5

12.6

12.8

13.0

 

   Constipation

12.2

12.1

11.9

11.8

11.6

11.5

 

   Nervousness

10.7

11.0

11.3

11.7

12.0

12.4

 

   Poor appetite

5.4

3.7

2.9

2.7

2.8

3.4

 

   Weight loss

2.6

2.5

2.3

2.2

2.0

1.9

 

   Difficulty urinating

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.2

2.2

 

Biphasic prevalence

       

   Impaired concentration

28.1

31.3

32.2

30.7

27.0

21.6

<0.001

   Sweating

14.1

25.0

34.1

38.1

35.9

28.2

<0.0001

Decreasing prevalence

       

   General fatigue

83.4

78.2

71.8

64.4

56.3

47.8

<0.0001

   Headache

74.2

67.3

59.7

51.5

43.3

35.4

<0.0001

   Irritability

66.1

59.1

51.8

44.4

37.2

30.5

<0.0001

   Melancholy

60.1

58.3

56.4

54.6

52.7

50.8

<0.01

   Backache

55.2

52.1

48.9

45.8

42.7

39.6

<0.0001

   Exhaustion

45.4

45.6

43.2

38.1

30.9

22.5

<0.001

   Feeling cold

40.7

36.0

31.6

27.5

23.7

20.3

<0.0001

   Crying easily

38.6

35.5

32.4

29.5

26.8

24.3

<0.0001

   Abdominal pain

32.2

28.7

25.4

22.3

19.6

17.1

<0.0001

   Dizziness

27.3

24.9

22.6

20.6

18.6

16.8

<0.0005

   Nausea

17.9

15.7

13.6

11.8

10.2

8.8

<0.0001

  1. Symptom prevalence by age after adjustment for the influence of educational level, self-rated health and mood, body mass index, smoking habits, use of hormone replacement therapy, and use of other symptom relieving therapy.
  2. *)p-values refer to prevalence trends across age.