Early complications of menopause among women in Tehran

ABSTRACT

Life expectancy has increased dramatically in developing countries such as Iran. Menopause as a relatively recent phenomenon brought about new challenges. Early complications of menopause can greatly influence the quality of life. Current study aimed at investigating early complications of 441 menopausal women who lived in Tehran using cluster sampling method. The mean age of menopause was 48.51 +/- 4.45. Following variable were included in the study age, age of menorah, education status, marital status, breast feeding, history of oral contraceptive usage and hormone replacement therapy, exercise, calcium intake [diet/drug] and smoking. Using Jones standard questionnaire, the early complication of menopause were asked by interview. The mean value for total score of these complications were 12.1 +/- 6.8, 60.3% of which had severe complication. Exercise was found to reduce the rate of complications significantly [P = 0.001]. To reduce the early complication of menopause, a fundamental change in menopausal women's life-style is suggested among which exercise is a must