Prevalence of cervical cancer in Ain Defla region (Algeria)

The high rate of cervical cancer in Algeria and the absence of organized screening programs are well shown in this study, which aims to determine the prevalence of cervical cancer and describe the risk factors associated with this alarming prevalence. This retrospective study is based on data collected from medical records and A questionnaire was developed to assess the risk factors (such as: parity, age at first marriage, smoking, oral contraceptive, and Hormonal status) of cervical cancer among the participants. Face to Face interview were conducted with the participants. The result obtained from this study revealed that cervical cancer occupies the fourth place of cancer in the Wilaya of Ain Defla (4,71 %); the results confirm the effect of several risk factors such as early marriage age (below 20 years: 46.66 %), multiparity (53.33%), menopause (66.66 %); taking contraception (53.33%) and smoking in the development of this pathology. The adoption of an early and annual screening program in our region would be very important to us. In addition, the interest of annual screening is to raise women's awareness of this pathology, particularly in isolated regions. (

Attitude and knowledge of women between 45 and 65 years on menopause syndrome at the university college hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria

This research was designed to find out the attitude and knowledge of women between 45 and 65 years on menopause syndrome and its management. The study was conducted in University College Hospital located in Ibadan North Local Government of Oyo state. A self-designed forced-choice questionnaire was distributed to 100 women using random sampling technique. Furthermore, our study showed that most women view the onset of menopause positively and that few seek treatment. They report relatively low prevalence of menopausal symptoms, with the most significant being irregular menstrual cycles and increased blood pressure and urinary tract infections. Furthermore, our study revealed that 41% of the participants had no idea why their menstrual period stopped, while why 60% of the women had no idea what could be done to reduce menopausal symptoms. This study reveals a low level of awareness about menopausal syndrome and more should be done. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[5]: 57-62).

The North-East Moroccan physicians' management of menopause: Prescription vs. nonprescription of hormonal treatment

This study examined the management of North-East Moroccan physicians of menopause. The poll was carried out on a representative sample of physicians in the Nador region. The sample included gynecologists and general practitioner physicians in both public and private medical sectors. The survey contained focused and open-ended questions on the good knowledge or not of physicians about menopause, their patient population, their prescribing practices, their perceptions, and the different medical approaches to managing the symptoms of menopause. Among the general practitioners interviewed, only 16% of physicians are very knowledgeable about the management of menopause and only 3 physicians have followed continuous training. The others have mainly acquired their information from the internet, medical journals, and scientific magazines. Only one-third of physicians interviewed prescribe menopausal hormonal treatment in this region. The treatment is mainly prescribed to cope with hot flashes (97.1%) and menstrual cycle disruption (85.7%). Others are in favor of non-hormonal treatments and advise women to change their bad daily habits to relieve symptoms. In this region of Morocco, hormonal treatment for menopause is not very common and the majority of general practitioners are not familiar with menopause. (Afr J Reprod Health 2022; 26[6]:116-124).

Alterations in haematological and clotting profile of post-menopausal women in Benin City, Nigeria

Background: The cessation of ovarian functions at menopause and the accompanying decline in the production of ovarian steroid hormones creates a unique set of health concerns for women. Reductions in sex steroid levels, particularly oestrogen, have been associated with various diseases and conditions, including bleeding disorders, coronary heart disease (CHD), osteoporosis, cognitive dysfunction, urinary incontinence, hot flushes, and mood changes, among others. Objective: To determine changes in haemorheological and clotting profile in post-menopausal women. Methods: Two hundred participants comprising one hundred and fifty post-menopausal women and fifty healthy pre-menopausal control subjects were studied. The investigations carried out include whole blood viscosity, plasma viscosity, fibrinogen concentration, Prothrombin time (PT), Activated partial thromboplastin time with kaolin (APTTK) levels and complete blood count using standard methods. Results: The mean age (p=0.01), platelet count (p= 0.013), neutrophil (p= 0.03), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (p= 0.045) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (p=0.044) in postmenopausal women were significantly higher while lymphocyte count (p= 0.004) was significantly lower in postmenopausal compared to premenopausal women. Similarly, plasma oestradiol (p= 0.001), plasma viscosity (p= 0.03), relative blood viscosity (p= 0.03), whole blood viscosity (p= 0.03) and PTTK(p= 0.04) were significantly lower among postmenopausal women compared to premenopausal control subjects. Conclusion: Relative plasma viscosity correlated positively with age. There were significantly lower levels of haemorheological and clotting profile in post-menopausal women. These changes may be due to age or a decline in circulating oestrogen levels.

Experiences and perceptions of menopause among women in Ibadan South East Local Government Area, Nigeria

Menopausal experiences and perceptions of menopausal women in Ibadan South East Local Government Area were determined. A three-stage sampling technique was used to select the LGA, wards, and participants for the study. Eight Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) were conducted and a validated questionnaire was used to interview 240 participants aged between 46 to 69 years. Five questions were used to assess participants' knowledge with each question attracting 1 point thus culminating to a maximum of 5 points. Data from the FGD were recorded on audio-tapes, transcribed and subjected to content analysis. Descriptive and Chi-square test statistics were used to analyze the quantitative data. The mean age of participants was 56.9 ± 6.2 years. The mean age at menopause was 46.1 ± 2.5 years. Eighty-five percent of participants had ever heard about menopause and the participants' major source of information included close relatives (75.5%). The mean knowledge score for menopause using a 5-point scale was 2.8 ±1.0. Only 28.0% of the participants could state at least one symptom of menopause and 4.1% could list the risks associated with it. Fifty-four percent who scored above the mean knowledge score had positive attitude towards menopause regarding it as a natural occurrence. Seventy percent had the belief that sexual intercourse causes sickness for menopausal women. The belief of 60.8% of the participants was that women should not tell anyone about their menopausal experiences. Eighty-three percent had experienced at least one out of the 19 common symptoms of menopause. Discomforting experiences attributed to menopause included dryness of the vagina (81.3%), pain during intercourse (76.7%) and joint pains (74.2%). Only 32.9% took action to alleviate the discomforts. Actions taken included self-medication (47.4%), adoption of sexual abstinence (13.0%) among others. Illnesses perceived to be associated with menopause included: fibroid (34.4%), weakness of the body (30.0%) and protruding stomach (18.0%). FGD revealed that many of the participants were of the opinion that sex should be avoided by menopausal women in order to prevent adverse effects associated with menopause. There are gaps in knowledge, wrong perceptions and use of inappropriate palliative measures regarding menopause among the participants. Public enlightenment and community-based patient education interventions are needed to address these challenges

Drépanocytose chez l'enfant. Profils clinique et évolutif à propos de 138 cas suivis au Service de Pédiatrie de l'Hôpital Abass Ndao de Dakar

Introduction : La drépanocytose est une maladie héréditaire autosomique récessive de l'hémoglobine. C'est l'hémoglobinopathie la plus répandue dans le monde. Elle touche particulièrement l'Afrique subsaharienne. Sa révélation est souvent précoce chez le jeune nourrisson et son évolution chronique est émaillée de complications altérant la qualité de vie.Objectif : Caractériser le profil clinique et évolutif des enfants suivis pour syndrome drépanocytaire majeur, afin d'améliorer leur qualité de vie et de prolonger leur survie.Patients et méthodes : Il s'agissait d'une étude rétrospective, descriptive ayant concerné tous les patients suivis dans notre service pour une drépanocytose du 1er janvier 2010 au 31 avril 2015.Résultats : Cent trente-huit patients étaient suivis avec un sex-ratio (H/F) de 1,42, un âge moyen de 8,26 ans (DS = 4,06). La majorité provenait de Dakar (65,1%) suivie de la région de Diourbel, puis de Matam avec respectivement 10,3% et 8,7% des cas. Les aînés étaient plus représentés avec 35,8% des cas et la fratrie moyenne était de 3,4 enfants par famille (DS 2,09). Une consanguinité parentale était retrouvée dans 50% et concernait le premier degré dans 46,7% des cas. L'âge moyen au diagnostic était de 52,61 mois (DS 39,8). Les circonstances de découverte étaient dominées par les douleurs ostéo-articulaires (34,8%), le syndrome pieds-mains (14,5%) et l'anémie (10,2%). A l'admission, 62,9% des patients avaient un index de masse corporelle insuffisant par rapport à l'âge. Trois types de profil d'hémoglobine ont été retrouvés : SS (94,7%), SC (4,5%) et un cas de S bêta thalassémie. Le traitement était essentiellement une supplémentation en acide folique (98,6%) et en fer (20,4%) et seulement deux patients étaient sous hydroxyurée.Une antibioprophylaxie par la pénicilline V orale était administrée dans 74,1% des cas. Pendant les phases de crises, la prise en charge était basée sur les antalgiques (81,9%), l'hydratation avec des solutés glucosés 5% (71%), des antibiotiques surtout les bêtalactamines et les quinolones (60,9%), la transfusion (30,4%) et la chirurgie (1,7%). Les complications étaient la crise vaso-occlusive (83,3%), les infections (54,3%) et la déglobulisation aiguë (26,1%). Un décès était noté. Les perdus de vue concernaient 41,7% des cas.Conclusion : Les complications de la drépanocytose chez l'enfant restent dominées par les crises vaso-occlusives et les infections. Il est alors capital de mettre l'accent sur la prévention primaire et secondaire afin d'améliorer la qualité de vie de ces patients

Behavioral Pattern of Menopausal Nigeria Women

Context : Menopause is one area that has been shrouded in myths and taboos and the way women perceive menopause depends largely on the social belief about menopause in their society. Objective : The aims of this study are to assess how women perceived the physical changes during menopause; what the social as well as the individual adjustment practice to menopausal changes might be. Materials and Methods : Qualitative focal group study among women aged 40 years and above where eight to ten volunteers formed a group. Six sessions were held for different focal group; each lasting 1-2 h. A tape recorder and a notepad were used to record the discussions. Opinions of the women were sought on socio-cultural differences in the perception of aging; perception of menstruation; perceived causes and consequences of menopause; sexual intercourse after menopause; social support networks for menopausal women; and types of care and treatment for women in menopause. Results: The participants in the FGDs used various phrases to describe menopause in local term; while some of the participants attributed disease to be a cause of menopause; others believed that it be could be caused by witchcraft or sorcery. However; younger and old women whose menstrual flow stops prematurely seek assistance; often from traditional or spiritual healers. Conclusion: This study reveals the poor menopausal knowledge among the study group with more than half of the respondents having negative attitude towards menopause in addition to mixed feelings about religious obligation and cohabitation

Rural women's understanding of the concept of menopause in Limpopo Province, South Africa

The word 'menopause' is derived from men and pausis and is a direct description of the psychological and physical events in women where menstruation ceases to occur. It is the time in a woman's life when she has experienced the last menstrual bleed. Menopause is not a disease per se but a condition associated with hormonal changes where estrogen diminishes to a low level causing health related symptoms. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the knowledge of rural women concerning menopause in Mutale Municipality; South Africa. A qualitative; explorative; descriptive and contextual design was used. Purposive sampling was used to select the four villages and the focus groups. Sample size was determined by data saturation. The findings of the study indicated that the rural women in Mutale community had the common traditional understanding of the concept menopause; that blood is gone; old age; it was God' nature of doing things and that cessation of menstruation was a normal and natural transition. They could not attach cessation of menstruation to menopausal conditions but to old age and physical as well as psychological health related problems. There is need for health care providers to conduct workshops in order to enlighten rural women in this community regarding phenomenal issues of menopause

Menopausal challenges as perceived by women in rural villages of Limpopo Province, South Africa

The study explored the challenges of menopause as perceived by participants in rural villages of Vhembe District. A cross-sectional study involved a sample of 500 women between the ages of 40 years and above. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data and was analysed descriptively. The results indicated that those experiencing night sweat were 39.1; hot flushes (43.4) and 43.4 difficulty falling asleep. As for urogenital category; about 50 reported frequency of urination while 41.3 and 35.2 reported having menstrual problems and issues related to 'avoiding intimacy' respectively. Concerning musculoskeletal symptoms; between 38 reported having joint aches/stiffness of the joints and low backache/muscle pains respectively.The study demonstrated a high prevalence of menopausal challenges among the perimenopausal and postmenopausal women; thus suggesting a need for an intervention to reduce the incidence of menopausal challenges associated with menopause in this population

Knowledge and Perception of Menopause and Climacteric Symptoms among a Population of Women in Enugu; South East; Nigeria

Background: Menopause alters the physiological; biochemical and psychological environment of a woman. Thus the knowledge and perception of its symptomatology is invaluable to enable appropriate adjustment to this natural phenomenon. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and perception of menopause and climacteric symptoms among a sample of women in Enugu; South East Nigeria. Methods: This was a cross sectional survey of 432 women aged 45-60 and above drawn from the general population of Enugu metropolis of Nigeria. These women were randomly selected from the gynaecology clinic attendees in a tertiary health care facility in Enugu. A self administered structured pre-tested questionnaire was designed. The data were analysed using SPSS software. The primary methods used were cross tabulation (with X2 or Mantel Haenszel trend tests as appropriate) and one way analysis of variance. Results: Majority of women in the population studied experienced climacteric symptoms but relatively few regarded these symptoms as a problem. For example hot flushes and night sweats were experienced by 70.0but defined as a problem by only 30.0. Out of 432 women studied; only 33.3sought medical attention in hospital for their symptoms. 58.3of the women did not regard them as a medical problem and took them as part of aging process. Conclusion: Physicians should be aware of climacteric symptoms among women in the population so as to offer appropriate counselling and support without undue recourse to wasteful clinical assessment and investigations. Public enlightenment would also help to improve awareness of the menopause and its symptoms that may often lead to misdiagnosis in gynaecological clinics

The Role of Hormone Therapy in the Treatment of Osteoporosis

The use of Menopausal Hormone Therapy (HT) to prevent bone loss has long been considered as one of the major indications for its use. Following the publication of the Women's Health Initiative study in 20031 the role of HT for the prevention of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease has been questioned with the majority of the guidelines emanating from menopause societies recommending that the primary role of HT; be it estrogen only (E) or estrogen with progestin (E/P); is the alleviation of the symptoms of early menopause and that it should be used in the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time. In the years since the publication of the WHI results there have been publications from sub-studies and re-analyses of WHI as well as publications on the use of different products and different modes of delivery of estrogen and progestin. The current status of HT therefore needs to be re-evaluated in the light of these more recent publications

Opinion of South African Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women on the Potential Menopause-Related Health Benefits of Soy and Soy products

The increased use of alternative treatment for menopausal symptoms is mainly due to women's changing opinions of conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The objective of this study was to assess the opinion of preand post-menopausal South African women regarding the potential menopause-related health benefits of soy. The sample used for the study was a sub-dataset of 825 respondents; which included only pre- and post-menopausal women that had heard of soy before; selected from a representative sample of the adult South African metropolitan and rural populations. A structured questionnaire was used. Neither age nor racial groups differed practically significantly in opinion regarding any of the various statements. The study also shows that a practically significant lower proportion of women in the sub-population across both age and race groups had a positive opinion on the health benefits of soy as an alternative to HRT and reliever of menopausal symptoms than those who acknowledged its benefit for preventing cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Practically significantly more women who used soy than women who never used soy agreed that soy keeps bones strong. In addition; more women who were of opinion that soy has few or no health benefits disagreed that soy could be used as an alternative to HRT compared to women who held a positive opinion