Experience of Menopause for Women in the Niamey Region, Republic of Niger

Abstract

Introduction: Menopause is poorly documented in Africa. For most of the women living there, the experience of this period does not seem to be very problematic. For women living in rural areas, other concerns are more prominent. Methods: The study was prospective, quantitative and qualitative about 500 cases collected over a period of 6 months. The study involved postmenopausal women in the Niamey region of public services, in certain residential areas, or accompanying people in health structures. Parameters taken into account were sociocultural, antecedents, experience, knowledge, and management of menopause. The data was entered and analyzed using Microsoft Office Word 2010 and Microsoft Office Excel 2010 software. Results: The average age was 56.4 years with extremes of 40 and 80 years; 57% were still living with their husbands and 39% widows; 60.2% housewives; 53% uneducated, 17% have higher education; 60.2% had had at least 6 children and 39.6% had used contraception. The comorbidities observed were arterial hypertension (24.4%) and diabetes (7%). As for the representation that women made of menopause, for all of them, this stage is the beginning of old age. The most frequent signs were asthenia (86.2%) and mood disorders (70.6%). Almost all of the patients (99.8%) had not used hormonal treatment for the menopause and among them 27% the management of the menopause was with traditional means. Conclusion: Menopausal disorders are certainly a reality in our socio-cultural context. They are not a primary concern either through ignorance or resignation of the women concerned.