[Depression-anxiety and disability in the premenopausal and postmenopausal period]

The aim of the study is to compare levels of depression-anxiety and disability in premenopausal and postmenopausal women.

The study was carried out with women between 45-55 years of age, living in the service area of a Mother-Child Health and Family Planning Center. Women who did not have a menstruation at least for one year were accepted as postmenopausal. The premenopausal group was consisted of women having menstruation. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HAD) and Brief Disability Questionnaire (BDQ) were applied to the women.

Four hundred and ninety four women were recruited to the study. There were 214 women in the premenopausal period and 280 women in the postmenopausal period. In premenopausal women the level of education was higher and smoking was more prevalent; whereas in postmenopausal women the prevalence rates of being housewife and having continuous drug therapy due to chronic physical diseases were higher. In postmenopausal women, levels of depression and disability were significantly higher. In this group, the predictive factors for having a high HAD score were disability, education having a previous psychiatric disorder having drug therapy due to chronic physical diseases, diabetes mellitus, low level, menopause before the age of 40, not having any counselling for menopause, and not having routine laboratory tests. Having a previous psychiatric disorder and not having any counselling were also predicting disability. None of the variables predicted a high HAD score psychiatric disorder and not having any counselling were also predicting disability and disability in the premenopausal women.

The postmenopausal period seems to predispose women to depressive symptoms and disability compared to the premenopausal period.