Aims, Methods, and Results of the Progetto Menopausa Italia

The aim of this study, named Progetto Menopausa Italia (PMI), is to collect epidemiological data on Italian postmenopausal women to ascertain how risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and other pathologies correlate with menopause, what is the incidence of such risk factors in Italy, to verify the appropriateness of medical strategies, and to evaluate differences across northern, central, and southern regions. The common epidemiological tool of this study, involving 132 menopause centers all over the country, is a standard clinical file sheet, automatically scanned by means of original software, allowing easy, comparable, and complete archiving and analysis of collected data by a national central server. These data should pursue educational as well as cultural goals for women and health care providers, both public and private, with an objective of indicating several areas where more effort should be made to improve health care. Women enrolled in the PMI study (although they cannot be taken as a representative sample of the Italian population since they voluntarily consult a gynecologist) can help to describe the characteristics of menopausal women in Italian society, since the medical centers involved in the PMI study are very well distributed throughout the country. This sample includes a large and growing number of women, who once enrolled, are continually monitored (8,869 women as of the fall, 1998).