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Vaginal symptoms in Japanese postmenopausal women: comparison with other climacteric symptoms
K Takamatsu1, H Ohta, M Kasuga
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan.
Objectives:
This study was designed to investigate the current status of vaginal symptoms in Japanese postmenopausal women, and to clarify the significance of vaginal symptoms by analyzing their relationship to other climacteric symptoms.
Methods:
The complaints of 613 women attending a menopause clinic (mean age +/- standard deviation 53.5 +/- 7.2 years; time since menopause or bilateral oophorectomy 6.4 +/- 6.5 years) were evaluated according to the Keio modified menopause index.
Results:
In total, 56.4% of subjects had at least one vaginal symptom. The most frequent vaginal symptom was dyspareunia, followed by vaginal dryness, discharge and itching, and the mean prevalence of the four symptoms was 31.7%. The peak intensity of vaginal symptoms occurred in the sixth decade, or 3-5 years after menopause or oophorectomy. Vaginal symptoms were usually associated with other climacteric symptoms, but some occurred independently.
Conclusions:
A moderate proportion of Japanese postmenopausal women experience vaginal symptoms, which can occur independently of other climacteric symptoms. Vaginal symptoms therefore warrant careful attention during the treatment of postmenopausal women.