Impact of COVID-19 on health of menopausal women: A scoping review

Objective: This scoping review aims to map and summarize the direct impact of contracting COVID-19, and the indirect consequences of the pandemic on the health of peri- and postmenopausal women. Methods: Searches for published studies were conducted in CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and ProQuest from inception to 26 Oct, 2022. Grey literature and reference lists of included studies were searched. Results are presented as a narrative synthesis and tables. Results: Thirty-eight studies were selected in this review. Overall, a majority of studies (n = 31) suggest that menopausal women were negatively impacted, while lesser studies (n = 21) concluded that they were not and some studies (n = 14) produced both negative and neutral results. Twenty-three studies presented on the direct health impact of COVID-19 infections on menopausal women. Eleven studies focused on the indirect impact of COVID-19 in terms of contact restriction measures on menopausal health during the pandemic compared to before the pandemic. Six studies described the different indirect impact of COVID-19 on health of menopausal women with various characteristics or lifestyles. Conclusion: The direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19 on menopausal women on physical, mental health and social wellbeing are largely negative.