Menopausal symptoms of postmenopausal women in a rural community of Delhi, India: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background:There is very little data on the consequence of menopause on women in South East Asia region, especially from rural India. Importance is always given to reproductive health from menarche to menopause. Menopausal health demands priority in Indian scenario due to rising population of postmenopausal women.Objectives:The aim was to determine the mean age at attaining menopause and the prevalence of various self-reported menopausal symptoms complained by postmenopausal women (40-54 years). Furthermore, to determine the prevalence of anxiety and depression among postmenopausal women.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural area of New Delhi among 252 postmenopausal women from October 2011 to March 2013. A pretested, self-designed, semi structured, interview based, oral questionnaire was used. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences software Version 21.0 (SPSS) was used for analyses.Results:The mean age at attaining menopause was 46.24 (Standard Deviation = 3.38) years. Only 4 (1.6%) postmenopausal women had premature menopause. A total of 225 (89.3%) postmenopausal women experienced at least one or more menopausal symptom(s). The most common complaints of postmenopausal women were sleep disturbances (62.7%), muscle or joint pain (59.1%), hot flushes (46.4%) and night sweats (45.6%). A total of 32.1% (n=81) postmenopausal women suffered from depression and 21.0% (n=53) postmenopausal women suffered from anxiety.Conclusion:It is necessary to critically introspect health needs of postmenopausal women and specific components can be incorporated in the national health programs.

Prevalence of menopausal symptoms and perceptions about menopause among postmenopausal women attending Gynaecology OPD at GMC Idukki, India

“…In the study by Akansha et al, it was 89.3% and that by Alakananda et al, it was 80.5 % which is almost similar to the present study. 2,4 Hot flushes were the most common symptoms with 58% suffering from it while 42% had excessive sweating. In the study by Alakananda et al, it was 52.5% and 48.5% respectively which is comparable with this study.…”

Study on bone health in postmenopausal women at a tertiary care hospital

“…15 Compared to the Western World, the prevalence of osteopenia and osteoporosis is much higher in our and other Indian studies, reflecting poor overall health of menopausal women and women in general in India. 6,8 The prevalence of low BMD (osteopenia and osteoporosis) is 77% in our study (50.5% with osteopenia and 26.5% with osteoporosis).…”

“…6 Across the world, there is a considerable variation among women regarding the age of attaining menopause and the manifestation of menopausal signs and symptoms. 7 In 1990, about 25 million women worldwide reached menopause; this number is expected to double by the late 2020s.…”

The effect of sleep hygiene education and relaxation exercises on insomnia among postmenopausal women: A randomized clinical trial

“…The 3 most common problems that cause discomfort to women during the postmenopausal period are vasomotor changes, insomnia, and fatigue (Ameratunga, Goldin, & Hickey, 2012;Lai, Chen, Chen, Chen, & Wang, 2006;Timur & Şahin, 2010;Timur & Şahin, 2012). The incidence of insomnia during the menopausal period ranges between 12% and 70% in the literature (Perez, Garcia, Palacios, & Perez, 2009;Simon & Reape, 2009;Singh & Pradhan, 2014;Taavoni, Ekbatani, Kashaniyan, & Haghani, 2011;Terauchi et al, 2010). Perez et al (2009) found that the postmenopausal period has the highest insomnia rate of all periods in human life (49.4%) (Perez et al, 2009).…”