Determinants of severity of menopausal symptoms among Saudi women in Riyadh city.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between sociodemographic, reproductive and lifestyle factors and the severity of menopausal symptoms among Saudi women attending a university hospital in Riyadh city. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was carried out during 2010 in Riyadh city. Women aged > 40 years attending or accompanying their relatives in outpatient clinics in King Khalid University Hospital were invited to participate in the study. The English version of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms after translation and validation on a sample of 30 women. RESULTS: A total of 490 women were included. Severe urogenital symptoms were more common among housewives compared to working women (odds ratio (OR) 2.27, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12-4.68) and women living in apartments or small houses compared to women living in villas (OR 1.70, 95% CI 1.90-2.64). Nulliparous women had more severe somatic symptoms compared to those who had been pregnant (OR 2.83, 95% CI 1.10-7.69). Women who exercised regularly were less likely to experience severe somatic and urogenital symptoms (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.37-0.86; OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.44-0.98, respectively). Obese women experienced more severe psychosomatic symptoms compared to those of normal body mass index (OR 2.01, 95% CI 0.96-4.93). CONCLUSION: Women who are housewives, living in apartments, not exercising regularly and obese are more likely to suffer from severe symptoms of menopause.

Accuracy of Various Iron Parameters in the Prediction of Iron Deficiency Anemia among Healthy Women of Child Bearing Age, Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency is still considered the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide and the most significant negative consequence of iron deficiency is iron deficiency anemia (IDA). This study elucidates if IDA among healthy women of child bearing age could be predicted by various iron parameters, using serum ferritin as a gold standard. METHODS: Between January and June 2009 at primary care clinics of a teaching hospital in Saudi Arabia, 112 anemic (Hemoglobin = 120 g/l) subjects participated in the study. Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), red blood cell distribution width (RDW), serum ferritin, and hemoglobin electrophoresis were obtained from all participants. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were used to assess the accuracy of various iron parameters. RESULTS: With respect to the serum ferritin, the best predictive cut-off value of MCV, MCH and RDW at the most optimal were 76 fl (ROC curve=0.768), 24 Pg (ROC curve=0.72) and 16.1% (ROC curve=0.711), respectively. MCHC was not significant in predicting the iron deficiency in these patients. CONCLUSION: IDA can be predicted among women of child bearing age using complete blood count test. MCV, MCH and RDW are the iron parameters of complete blood count test, which is a cost effective, easily accessible and could be useful tool in areas with limited resources and a high prevalence of the disease.