The quality of life during and after menopause among rural women

The overall health and well-being of middle-aged women has become a major public health concern around the world. More than 80% of the women experience physical or psychological symptoms in the years when they approach menopause, with various distresses and disturbances in their lives, leading to a decrease in the quality of life. The aim of our study was to assess the quality of life and the impact of hormonal changes in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women and to correlate the prevalence of the symptoms with their duration since menopause.

A cross- sectional study was done at Sri Manakula Vinayagar Medical College and Hospital, Puducherry, from January 2012 to April 2012. Five hundred women who were in the age group of 40-65 years, who came from rural areas to our hospital, were included in the study. The women who were receiving hormonal treatment and those who refused to participate in the study were excluded. The data such as the socio-demographic information and the menstruation status, which were based on the reported length of time since the last menstrual period and the experience of the symptoms, as were tested in the Menopause Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire, were collected from each patient. The women who were included in the study were divided into three groups as the menopause transition, early postmenopausal and the late postmenopausal groups. All the data which were gathered were analyzed by using SAS 9.2. The Chi square test and the relative risk and the confidence interval calculations were applied to compare the frequencies of the symptoms among the women with different menopausal statuses. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.

Mean menopausal age in the study group was 45 years. The most common symptom within study subjects were low back ache (79%) and muscle-joint pain (77.2%). The least frequent symptoms were increase in facial hair (15%) and feeling of dryness during intimacy (10.8%). Scores of vasomotor domain were significantly more in menopause transition group. Scores of physical domain were significantly more in late postmenopausal group.

The menopause related symptoms had a negative effect on the quality of life of the perimenopausal and the postmenopausal women. Such regional studies can help in creating awareness and in educating women on the early identification of the common menopausal symptoms.