Correlates of serum estradiol concentration among postmenopausal women in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: There are limited data on the associated factors of circulating endogenous estradiol among Nigerian postmenopausal women. The main objective of this study is to assess the relationship between serum estradiol levels and some menstrual, clinical, and sociodemographic factors in postmenopausal women attending a family medicine clinic in Nigeria. METHODS: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional study involving 372 postmenopausal women. Sociodemographic, menstrual, and clinical data of the participants were collected, and their serum estradiol concentrations were assayed. The collected data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21 statistical software. A χ2 test of association and logistic regression analysis were done to identify significant correlates of serum estradiol concentration among the participants. RESULTS: The mean ages at menarche and menopause among the participants were 15.6 and 48.1 years respectively. Approximately half of them (51.1%) were receiving chronic medical care for systemic hypertension and/or diabetes. The mean estradiol concentration of the participants in the study was 20.69 pg/mL. The participants' marital status and clinical presentation pattern (chronic vs others) were found to have statistically significant associations with their serum estradiol concentration; P = 0.048 and P = 0.001, respectively. Logistic regression analysis revealed that only the clinical presentation pattern had a significant relationship with serum estradiol concentration among the participants ( P = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Of all the studied factors, the only significant correlate of low serum estradiol concentration found in this study was chronic medical care presentation for hypertension and/or diabetes.

Pattern and Predictors of Sexual Activity among Postmenopausal Women Attending a Family Medicine Clinic in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES: Sexual activity tends to decline with age and is greatly impacted in postmenopausal women. This study aimed to describe the sexual activity pattern among postmenopausal Nigerian women and also detect socio-demographic and menopause-related predictors of their sexual activity. METHODS: In this hospital-based cross-sectional study, 357 postmenopausal women between 45-60 years participated. Data was collected using the sexual activity questionnaire and a socio-demographic questionnaire developed by the authors. RESULTS: The prevalence of sexual inactivity among the participants was 60%. This was attributed mainly to the unavailability of male partners (50.5%) and negative menopause-related sociocultural beliefs (23.8%). Among sexually active participants, 83.2% of them reported having pleasurable experiences and 53.8% of them reported no associated sexual discomfort. Only being in a marital relationship was found to be a statistically significant predictor of sexual activity among the participants (regression coefficient = 3.125, degree of freedom = 1, P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: We reported a high prevalence of sexual inactivity among the participants; the most important reasons given were the unavailability of their husbands and the belief that sexual intercourse was taboo during the postmenopausal period. The study also provided positive evidence for the importance of marriage for sexual activity among the participants.