No abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the relationship between climacteric status and health symptoms across age cohorts in 522 African American women aged 25-75. Data were collected through home interviews and subjected to hierarchical regression analyses. In the overall sample a direct relationship was found between climacteric status and physical health symptoms but not mental health symptoms. A direct relationship between climacteric status and both physical and mental health symptoms was found for the younger age cohort 25-34. There was a direct relationship between climacteric status and physical health symptoms but not mental health symptoms for the 35-44 age cohort. The relationship between climacteric status and physical and mental health symptoms held despite controls for education, income, marital status, and body mass.