A Cross Sectional Study on Health Profile of Post-Menopausal Women of Urban Area of Gujarat

ABSTRACT

Introduction:Menopause is the inevitable stage of women's reproductive cycle. Indian women spend around a third of their life in post-menopausal period. The common climacteric symptoms experienced by women are vasomotor, physical and psychological symptoms. There is no specific health care programme for post-menopausal women. Objective:The objectives are to determine the average age at attaining menopause and the prevalence of various menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women. Method:The present cross sectional study was carried out in four different urban sites of Gujarat. Two stage sampling methods adopted to select participants. Data was collected by personnel interview using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Results:Median age of menopause was 45 years with a range from 35 to 56 years. The most common symptoms present among participants were fatigue (73%), irritability (72%), weight gain (61%), headache (59%), anxiety (52%), joint pain (51%), insomnia (51%). The Vasomotor symptoms like hot flushes, night sweat and urinary incontinence were present respectively in 41%, 35% and 23% of study participants. Conclusion:The study shows that postmenopausal women in Gujarat suffer from various vasomotor, physical and psychiatric problems with varied frequencies. This study reveals that Indian urban women attain a menopause at early age. Frequency of the post menopausal symptoms increased when women attain menopause at early age.