Epidemiological investigation of perimenopausal women in Shanghai / 中西医结合学报

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the cognitive level and the mental status of the patients suffering from perimenopausal syndrome in Shanghai, and to identify the traditional Chinese medicine syndrome distribution feature of perimenopausal syndrome. Methods: The cognitive level of the perimenopausal women was evaluated by using general living problem questionnaire. The mental status of the perimenopausal women was evaluated by using self-rating depressive scale. The traditional Chinese medicine syndrome distribution feature of perimenopausal syndrome was identified by using traditional Chinese medical symptoms questionnaire. Results: A total of 634 perimenopausal women finished the investigation. There were 74.76% (474/634) patients who knew little about the perimenopausal syndrome; 77.29% (490/634) patients had a depressive tendency; 8.36% (53/634) patients had depressive disorder. There were 72.40% (459/634) patients who had the symptoms such as susceptibility to anger and restlessness, restless sleep at night, thirst with dry throat and bitter taste, and all these symptoms could be classified into hyperactivity of heart and liver fire syndrome. Conclusion: Patients suffering from perimenopausal syndrome know little about this disease and mostly have depressive tendency, and the major traditional Chinese medicine syndrome pattern is hyperactivity of heart and liver fire based on the chief clinical manifestations of the patients.