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A study of more than 1,800 Flo app users across 87 countries found that greater reported physical activity was associated with lower perimenopause symptom scores. Researchers said the association appeared strongest for psychological symptoms, but the survey does not establish that exercise caused symptoms to lessen.
A survey of more than 1,800 Flo app users in 87 countries found that people reporting more frequent physical activity also reported lower perimenopause symptom scores, according to findings scheduled for presentation at The Menopause Society’s annual meeting in San Diego from October 20 to 24. The association appeared strongest for psychological symptoms, the study’s presenting author said; the survey design does not show that exercise caused the difference.
Participants completed an online survey describing how often they were physically active, with response options ranging from “not physically active” to more than five days a week. They also reported symptoms that researchers assessed across somatic, psychological and urogenital domains using the Menopause Rating Scale, or MRS. The study drew respondents from 87 countries across six continents, all of whom were using the Flo app.
The researchers examined the relationship between reported activity frequency and MRS scores using multivariable linear regression. They said their prespecified adjustment factors included age, body mass index, smoking, comorbidities and healthcare access, along with each country’s Socio-Demographic Index. The report describes an inverse association between activity frequency and symptom scores, meaning more frequent activity was linked with lower reported symptom burden. It also describes a statistically significant inverse association in the unadjusted analysis across the symptom domains; the supplied account does not give effect sizes or adjusted estimates.
The results are due to be presented under the title “Physical activity frequency and perimenopause symptom burden: Global insights from the Flo app.” The source report does not provide a journal publication, full study paper, or detailed numerical results. The findings are therefore best read as an association reported from survey data, rather than evidence that a specific exercise routine treats perimenopause symptoms.
Activity and Symptom Burden
The findings add international survey data to a question researchers say has received limited attention: whether physical activity frequency is related to the range of symptoms people experience during perimenopause. For readers, the reported link may support discussion of movement as one part of general midlife wellbeing, but it does not establish a treatment effect or identify an activity level that will reduce symptoms for an individual.
Dr. Liudmila Zhaunova, the study’s presenting author and director of science at Flo Health, said the association “seemed to be strongest for psychological symptoms like low mood irritability and anxiety.” She added that such symptoms can affect daily life and said regular movement “may be an accessible way to help.” Those are the researcher’s interpretation of the findings, not proof that activity relieves those symptoms.
The Menopause Society’s medical director, Dr. Stephanie Faubion, said the results suggest more physically active women may have a lower symptom burden, especially for psychological symptoms, while emphasizing that additional research is needed. The practical relevance is that physical activity is already part of healthy-lifestyle guidance, but people should not take this survey as a substitute for clinical assessment or established care options.
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How Researchers Collected Responses
Perimenopause is the phase leading up to menopause, when hormonal changes can coincide with physical and psychological symptoms that affect quality of life. The study focused on symptom burden during this transition and compared survey responses with reported activity frequency. The broad geographic reach offers a wider set of respondents than a study from one location, but all participants were app users who chose to complete an online survey.
According to the source report, researchers used the Menopause Rating Scale to assess symptoms and considered several potential confounders in their models. Adjusting for these factors can help account for some differences between respondents, but it cannot by itself show cause and effect. Activity and symptoms were self-reported in the same survey, and the report does not describe a trial in which participants were assigned an exercise program and followed over time.
The source places the results in the context of known general health benefits associated with regular activity, including benefits for sleep, anxiety, muscle and bone health, blood pressure and weight control. Those broader claims are not outcomes tested by this particular perimenopause survey. The study’s stated contribution is its examination of how physical activity frequency relates to symptom ratings across an international group.
“Something that stood out to us was that the benefits of physical activity seemed to be strongest for psychological symptoms like low mood irritability and anxiety.”
— Dr. Liudmila Zhaunova, presenting author and director of science at Flo Health
Limits of the Survey Findings
The source report does not provide the study’s full results, including effect sizes, exact score differences or confidence intervals. It also does not specify the survey dates, response rate, participant ages, or how representative respondents were of people experiencing perimenopause in each country. Those details will be needed to judge how large the association was and how broadly the results apply.
The survey identifies a relationship, not a cause. People who are more active may differ in other ways from people who are less active, and self-reported activity and symptoms can be affected by recall or reporting differences. Although the researchers accounted for several prespecified factors, the available report does not show whether all relevant influences were measured or how adjustment changed the association.
It is also not clear from the supplied material whether lower scores were seen consistently in the adjusted analyses for each individual symptom domain, or whether the psychological finding was formally stronger than the others. The reported interpretation points to a particularly strong psychological association, but the numerical comparisons and full statistical results are not included.
Presentation and Further Research
The researchers are scheduled to present the work at The Menopause Society’s 2026 annual meeting in San Diego, running October 20–24. The presentation may provide additional methods and numerical results beyond those in the source report. No peer-reviewed publication or subsequent study is identified in the material provided.
Further research would be needed to test whether increasing physical activity changes symptom burden over time, which forms or amounts of activity may matter, and whether findings hold across different populations. For now, the report supports a possible association, not a prescribed exercise plan. People seeking help for perimenopause symptoms should discuss individual concerns and options with a qualified healthcare professional.
Key Questions
What did the study find?
Among more than 1,800 Flo app users across 87 countries, more frequent reported physical activity was associated with lower reported perimenopause symptom scores. The study report says the relationship appeared strongest for psychological symptoms.
Does the study prove that exercise reduces perimenopause symptoms?
No. It was a survey examining an association between self-reported activity and symptoms. It does not show that physical activity caused symptoms to lessen.
Which symptoms did researchers assess?
Researchers assessed symptoms in somatic, psychological and urogenital domains using the Menopause Rating Scale. The presenting author particularly highlighted low mood, irritability and anxiety.
Where and when will the results be presented?
The results are scheduled for presentation at The Menopause Society’s 2026 annual meeting in San Diego, October 20–24, under the title “Physical activity frequency and perimenopause symptom burden: Global insights from the Flo app.”
Source: rss
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