Menopausal symptoms among Chinese and Japanese women: differences and similarities

This study aimed to identify the characteristics of menopausal symptoms among Japanese and Chinese women and to determine the correlation between menopausal symptoms and self-efficacy.

We surveyed 40- to 59-year-old women, 329 of whom were from an urban area in Northwest China (Xi'an) and 310 were from an urban area in Western Japan (Ehime), using a menopausal symptoms inventory and a self-efficacy scale. Comparison analysis was conducted among pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal status, within and between the two cultural groups. Following a two-way ANOVA, multiple comparisons were performed using the Tukey-Kramer test. The correlation between severity of menopause symptoms and self-efficacy scores was evaluated using canonical correlation analysis.

The most frequently reported symptoms were fatigue (93.6%) among Japanese women and memory loss (76.6%) among Chinese women. Japanese women showed significantly higher severity scores across all factors than Chinese, sexual function: 19.58 (SE = 0.73) versus 15.04 (SE = 0.67); mental health condition: 35.44 (SE = 1.15) versus 27.12 (SE = 0.95); interpersonal anxiety: 27.45 (SE = 0.95) versus 21.92 (SE = 0.86); autonomic balance: 42.76 (SE = 1.27) versus 35.75 (SE = 1.17); other subjective symptoms: 39.68 (SE = 1.20) versus 33.07 (SE = 1.12) in the premenopausal group (P < 0.01); and mental health conditions 35.14 (SE = 1.41) versus 29.60 (SE = 1.25), interpersonal anxiety: 27.34 (SE = 1.18) versus 20.79 (SE = 1.02), autonomic balance factors: 45.81 (SE = 1.79) versus 38.05 (SE = 1.67) in the postmenopausal group (P < 0.01). No significant differences of the factors among menopausal stages within Japanese women were found. Among Chinese women, peri- and postmenopausal women showed significantly higher severity scores on sexual function, while perimenopausal women scored higher on mental health conditions and autonomic balance factors (P < 0.01). A negative correlation was found between menopausal symptoms and self-efficacy among both Japanese and Chinese women (P < 0.01).

Japanese women reported more severe symptoms compared with their Chinese counterparts, and for Chinese women, symptoms might be specifically associated with menopausal status. Menopausal experience is associated with self-efficacy and vice versa.