Climacteric symptoms: a study in the Indian context

The climacteric is a universal phenomenon which has received relatively little attention from psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and social workers all over the world, but almost no research on this subject has been carried out in the Third-World countries. This study, carried out in India, has been conducted for the purpose of unravelling the difficulties that Indian women have to face during the climacteric. 405 married women between 40 and 55 yr of age from the general population were contacted and interviewed. The results, obtained with the menopausal symptom checklist prepared by the authors, indicate (as do other recent surveys) that hot flushes, night sweats and insomnia seem to be clearly associated with the menopause. Also the incidence of other symptoms is described. Despite embarrassment or discomfort experienced from these symptoms by a majority of women, only 10% had apparently sought medical treatment. This study underlines the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to the problems of menopause and ageing.