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Table 2 Selected studies of physical activity and vaginal dryness
| Reference | Sample | Physical activity measure | Menopausal symptom measure | Other measures | Detailed findings | Summarized findings: observed association | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Null | Positive | Negative | Mixed | ||||||
| Cross-sectional studies | |||||||||
| Aydin et al. 2014 [34] | 1071 Islamicpostmenopausalwomen (of 1328 women that expressed interest) who attended an outpatient clinic from 2005–12 | Questionnaire included an item on regular exercise, defined as 30-min for ≥2 times per week (yes/no) | Validated questionnaire assessing genitourinary symptoms, including presence or absence of vaginal dryness | Socio-demographics, health behaviors, anthropometrics, length of menopausal status (months) | The prevalence of vaginal dryness was higher in participants reporting regular exercise | x | |||
| Tan et al. 2014 [33] | 305 Turkish (District of Izmir) menopausal women who went to their primary care physician between August and October 2009 | International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ)-short version. Women were classified as: low, moderate, or high active | Turkish version of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS), which includes 11 items assessing assess somato-vegetative, psychological and urogenital symptoms; scores range from ‘not present’ to ‘very severe’ | Socio-demographic factors, health behaviors, anthropometrics | High active women had a lower prevalence of vaginal dryness symptoms than low and moderate active women | x | |||
| Prospective cohort studies | |||||||||
| de Azevedo Guimaraes et al. 2011 [45] | 120 Brazilianwomen aged45–59 years oldvolunteered for the 12-week study(recruited throughwork or other institutions) | Habitual PA was assessed through the short form of the International PA Questionnaire (IPAQ); Participants were classified as: maintained <30 min/day, maintained or increased to 30–60 min/day, or maintained or increased to >60 min/day | Vaginal dryness was assessed using the Kupperman Menopausal Index | Socio-demographic factors, anthropometrics, menopausal status and symptoms, and QOL | There was no difference in reported vaginal dryness by activity group | x | |||
| 104 women completed the 12-week study | |||||||||
| Non-randomized intervention studies | |||||||||
| Karacan, 2010 [50]a | 112 women aged 46–55. The analytic sample included 65 participants that regularly participated in the 3- and 6-month exercise program | The 6-month exercise program included aerobic activity (75–80 % heart rate capacity) with calisthenics for 3 days a week for 55 min each session | The menopause rating scale (MRS) was composed of 11 items assessing menopausal symptoms divided into three groups: psychological, somatic-vegetative and urogenital | Physical characteristics (height, weight, and age at menopause), resting heart rate and blood pressure, lower back flexibility, hand grip strength, and body composition (skin folds) | There was no pre- to post- exercise program difference in vaginal dryness | x | |||
| Randomized controlled trials | |||||||||
| Moilanen et al. 2012 [53]a | 176 Finnish white women were recruited for the study by newspaper advertisements. The analytic sample included 154 inactive participants were randomly assigned to the exercise (n = 74) or control group (n = 77) that completed the 6-month study protocol | Exercise Group: Unsupervised aerobic training intervention; 4 × per week at 64–80 % maximal heart rate for 50 min each time | The presence of vaginal dryness were collected 2 × per day using a mobile phone- administered questionnaire | Socio-demographic factors, anthropometrics, and menopausal symptoms | The prevalence of vaginal dryness decreased pre- to post- intervention | x | |||
