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Menopause-associated problems: types and magnitude. A study in the Ain Al-Basha area, Jordan
1Department of Community and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan. fhg@index.com.jo
Rationale:
To begin to fill the information gap on the health of menopausal women in developing countries.
Objectives:
Objectives were three fold: to establish an approximate age of onset of menopause for women in the study area; to report on the physical presence of certain physical conditions; and, to record the self-reported frequency of signs/symptoms of menopause in the 6 months prior to the study.
Methodological Design:
A descriptive study of women randomly sampled from the study community.
Research Methods:
Women's homes were randomly sampled from the residential blocks surrounding the local community health centre. Women agreeing to the first phase of the study were also asked to consent to the second phase, then revisited to complete this second phase.
Instruments:
The first phase of the study involved an in-depth semistructured questionnaire and the second phase, a general and pelvic examination with laboratory tests.
Outcome Measures:
To gather the information as set out under Objectives.
Results:
One hundred and thirty seven women were included in the study. The median age of menopause was 49 years. Women either reported or were found to be suffering from a variety of health problems including: urinary incontinence (37%), urinary tract infections (UTI) (11%), reproductive tract infections (RTI) (39%), and genital prolapse (41%).
Conclusions:
Menopausal women suffer from an appreciable level of morbidity as they approach menopause. Also, the level of health awareness of these women lags behind the identified prevalence of the studied conditions.