[Current musculoskeletal symptoms in peri and postmenopausal women: results of a multicenter population epidemiological study. The EVOS Study Group].

Within the European vertebral osteoporosis study four stratified systematic samples of German residents aged 50-79 in Lübeck, Heidelberg, Jena and East Berlin have been drawn. Overall 4628 subjects were included, of whom 4385 were contactable and 3106 (71%) responded to the postal questionnaire enquiring about rheumatic complaints "today". 2348 (54%) followed an invitation to a medical examination in which a specific gynaecological history was taken. The prevalence of current back-, neck- and joint-pain is consistently higher in females than in males in all age groups. Females show a peak prevalence in the age group 55-64. 104/1134 women were pre- or perimenopausal. 1030 women had not had their period for at least 13 months and were classified as "postmenopausal". Neither the menopausal status nor the duration of the postmenopause were statistically significantly associated with the frequency of the three rheumatic complaints.