Burgeoning menopausal symptoms: An urgent public health concern

Demographic and epidemiological transitions have increased the life expectancy of people in India. This has resulted in higher burden of morbidities related to aging. The National Health programmes have focused mainly on the health of women in reproductive age groups and neglected their health thereafter. Thus, there is a need to explore the bio-social correlates of menopausal symptoms among women, which can influence their quality of life.

This cross-sectional community-based study was conducted in the urban slum of Mysore for 3 months. A total of 100 postmenopausal women in the age group of 40-65 years residing in the field practice area of Urban Health Training Centre were selected by simple random sampling method from the database of households. Details regarding socio-demographic characteristics, postmenopausal symptoms, and factors associated with them were collected in a pretested structured pro forma by interview technique.

Among 100 women included in the present study, mean age at menarche and menopause was 13.45 ± 1.72 and 46.7 ± 5.2 years, respectively. The most common postmenopausal symptom was joint pain (92%) followed by physical and mental exhaustion (84%), depression (76%), irritability (73%), hot flushes, and night sweats (65%). There was a significant positive correlation between age of the women, duration of life after menopause, and postmenopausal symptoms.

There is a high burden of postmenopausal symptoms which have shown an increasing trend with advancement of age. This calls for establishment of specific health interventions for postmenopausal women in the health-care settings.