KISO Survey

KISO survey will address the menopausal transition, and how different phases of menopause affects women’s everyday life.

Through a nationwide survey, we will create new knowledge about the challenges and opportunities women experience during menopause. In addition, we will map associations between the phases of menopause, symptoms, quality of life, ability to work, and physical activity.

All women who in June 2024 were aged 45-59 and living in Denmark were invited to participate in the survey.

The project is led by Associate Professor Maria Hybholt, Associate Professor Terese Sara Høj Jørgensen, and PhD fellow Sigrid Normann Biener from the Section of Social Medicine at the Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen. Through the nationwide survey and follow-up qualitative interviews with selected women, the researchers will map and explore in depth which symptoms women experience during the menopause.

The project team expects to conduct follow-up surveys with the same women every 3 years over 15 years to ensure in-depth knowledge of changes and long-term effects and consequences of menopause.

The results of the project are crucial to our knowledge and understanding of menopause and the challenges women experience in and around the menopausal transition. This knowledge is essential for developing national strategies, guidelines, and recommendations for how the healthcare system, workplaces, close relationships, and women themselves can prevent and manage symptoms during this phase of life.

All women will sooner or later, when they reach a certain age, be affected by menopause. Some women experience many years of severe symptoms that prevent them from maintaining their normal everyday life, while other women barely realise it. Most women experience symptoms for 4-5 years, but for some it lasts longer. Severe physical symptoms such as hot flashes and sleep disturbance increase the risk of psychological challenges, including depression and reduced quality of life. It's worth noting that menopausal symptoms vary from culture to culture and between ethnic groups, but also between individuals in homogenous populations. Menopause is thus an incredibly complex phenomenon that involves both psychological and social factors in addition to physiological and biological factors.

Today, there is no solid scientific knowledge about the challenges women in Denmark experience in connection with menopause. Moreover, menopause is generally under-researched and overlooked in a Danish context. This means that there are no national strategies and guidelines on how the healthcare system, workplaces, close relationships or women themselves can prevent and manage severe symptoms in this phase of life.

The research project consists of a cross-sectional survey with a questionnaire. The target group is women aged 45-59 years living in Denmark. The questionnaire contains validated instruments to measure menopause stage, symptoms, quality of life, work capacity and physical activity. Statistical analyses are conducted to examine frequencies and statistical associations between menopausal phases, symptoms, quality of life, work capacity, and social, lifestyle and health conditions.

Additionally, a follow-up qualitative interview study will be conducted with a subgroup of women selected based on their questionnaire responses. In-depth individual interviews are conducted with 30 informants. The interviews will provide a deeper understanding of selected issues arising from the questionnaire results.

If you are part of the survey, you can read more about how we process your personal data in the project here.

The results of the research project will be published in relevant scientific journals, in non-scientific journals, and in other relevant media.

Due to the long-term perspective of the project, continuous publications are expected. The first results are expected to be published in 2025.

On this page, scientific articles and other dissemination will be listed for interested parties on an ongoing basis.