A survey of women's knowledge and perception of hormone replacement therapy (hrt) in Enugu, South East Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: As a result of alteration in the physiological, biochemical and psychological environment of a woman due to menopause, there may be need for hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This concept is new in our poor resource setting, thus the knowledge and perception of HRT will be invaluable to appropriate adjustment to menopausal period. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the knowledge and perception of hormone replacement therapy among women in Enugu South-East Nigeria. METHOD: This was a cross sectional survey of gynaecology clinic attendees at the university of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH), Enugu. These women were randomly selected. Data were analyzed using SPSS software. The primary method used was cross tabulation. RESULT: The knowledge and perception of HR among women of South East Nigeria is poor and related to the level of education. One hundred and sixty eight women (38.9%) had knowledge of HRT and only 48 (11.1%) had taken it in the past. Currently none was using HRT despite experiencing menopausal symptoms. Majority of women were ignorant of HRT and took climacteric symptoms as part of aging process. CONCLUSION: The knowledge and perception of HRT is poor and limited. Public enlightenment would help to improve awareness of climacteric symptoms. Women at high risk for menopausal diseases should be advised on HRT.

Coinfection with hepatitis B and C viruses among HIV positive pregnant women in Enugu south east, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B and C viruses coinfection in HIV positive pregnant women is a common public health problem and recognized worldwide. The consequences of this problem in our poor resource setting with the risk of mother to child transmission is obvious with increased morbidity and mortality in our environment. OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of coinfection patterns of HBV and HCV among HIV positive pregnant women in Enugu Nigeria. METHODS: A retrospective survey conducted on 401 Nigeria HIV positive pregnant women seen at Prevention of Mother To Child Transmission (PMTCT) clinic at the UNTH Enugu Nigeria over a 3 year period between 1st January 2007 and 31st December 2009. RESULTS: The prevalence of hepatitis B and C viruses coinfection among HIV positive pregnant women in Enugu is 6.5%. HIV/HBV coinfection was commoner than HIV/HCV coinfection. There was no significant association between hepatitis B and C viruses coinfection and the age, ethnic group, marital or educational status of the women (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is high prevalence of hepatitis B and C coinfection among HIV positive pregnant women in Enugu. This high burden of these hepatotropie virus coinfection calls for continued need to screen for these infections and vaccinate the affected babies for hepatitis B and/or C where appropriate.

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

Waiting time to conception among the Igbo women of Enugu, Nigeria.

The objective of this study was to determine the waiting time to conception among a sample of pregnant Igbo women resident in an urban area of South-east Nigeria. This was a cross-sectional questionnaire study of antenatal clinic attendees at four major health institutions within Enugu, South-eastern Nigeria. The time to conception showed a pattern closer to that of the USA than that of the UK and is consistent with high fertility previously recorded in the Igbo population. We conclude that the data will be useful in counselling women who present with difficulty in conception.