Women's Health in Midlife: Factors Influencing Menopausal Symptoms among Rural Women in Tiruvallur District of Tamilnadu Dutta Ruma1,*, Shah Pankaj2, Edward Shanthi3, Rani Anitha4, Raja Dinesh5, Jain Timsi6 1Associate professor, Community Medicine, Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha University, Thandalam, Chennai 2Professor and HOD, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical college and Research Institute, Porur 3Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Balaji Medical college, Chrompet, Chennai 4Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, Sri Ramachandra Medical college and Research Institute, Porur 5Assistant professor, Community Medicine, Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai 6Professor, Community Medicine, Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai *Corresponding Author: Dr Ruma Dutta, MD. Associate Professor, Community Medicine, Saveetha Medical College, Saveetha University, Thandalam, Chennai-602105, Phone: 9952885332, Email: rumadr14@gmail.com
Online published on 20 March, 2019. Abstract Context Menopause is both an objective hormonal event and a subjectively perceived endocrine transition. The degree of symptomatology experienced by an individual woman can be influenced by a number of factors, including age at menopause and psychosocial attitude towards menopause. Objective To estimate the various symptoms that occur during the menopausal period and to determine the various factors like sociodemographic details influencing menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women in a rural population in Tiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu. Methodology A Cross sectional study was conducted among 780 postmenopausal women using cluster sampling method. Descriptive statistics was calculated for all background variables. Univariate analysis was done using Chi square test. Results The mean age of the 780 post menopausal women included in the study was 50.20 years. Their mean ages at menarche and at menopause were 12.16 years and 44.49 years respectively. 475 (61%) experienced vasomotor symptoms, 193 (24.7%) reported depressive mood, 276 (35.4%) reported anxiety, irritability was reported by 71 (9.1%) and sleep related problems were reported by 313 (40.1%) women. Vasomotor symptoms were reported more among those with duration of menopause > 8 years (P<0.05). Conclusion Postmenopausal women face a volley of health problems that needs to be addressed through proper therapy & counselling services. Top Keywords Anxiety, Depression, Irritability, Menopause, Menopausal Symptoms, Postmenopausal women. Top |