Inherent and Non-Inherent Factors Influencing Menopausal Symptoms and Effect of Menopause on Social Relation of Women in Qena Governorate, Egypt

Ahmed, Samar S.; Abd Elaziz, Khaled M.

doi:10.21608/scumj.2015.45596

Inherent and Non-Inherent Factors Influencing Menopausal Symptoms and Effect of Menopause on Social Relation of Women in Qena Governorate, Egypt

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Community Medicine, Qena Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University

² Department of Community, Environmental and Occupational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Egypt

10.21608/scumj.2015.45596

Abstract

Background: Menopause is an extremely stressful time in women's lives, as it accompanied by many different physiological and emotional changes. Aim: Assessing factors influence menopausal changes. In addition to; recognize the effect of menopause on social activities of women to guide researches in prevention and alleviation of menopausal symptoms. Subjects and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted on 150 menopausal women aged 45 years and above attending outpatient clinics of Qena general hospital and university hospital. They were interviewed by questionnaire include: socio- demographic data, knowledge, and attitude about menopause, previous history of medical conditions, menopausal symptoms, menstrual history, obstetric history, and social relation of women with their husbands and their friends. Menopausal symptoms were further classified into mild, moderate and severe and factors influencing these symptoms were investigated and analyzed. Results: Among socio-demographic factors associated with severe menopausal symptoms were increase of age, urban residence, higher education, and employment. Deficient knowledge and negative attitude toward menopause also show severe menopausal symptoms significantly. Moreover; menstrual history characteristics such as age of menarche above 12 or last menstrual cycle 60 years or above, scanty blood flow or flow more than 7 days or duration of menses 20 days and obstetric history presented by higher gravidity, parity and increase number of living children, all of which were associated with increase severity of menopausal symptoms. Inherent factors as menopausal age, duration of menstruation and amount of bleeding were predictors to severity of menopausal symptoms. Severity of Menopausal symptoms had influential effect on relation of women’s with their husband’s and women’s social context. Conclusion: Physicians should consider the effect of gynecological and obstetric history on severity of menopausal symptoms during women’s consultation of any menopausal symptoms.

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