Effect of Menopausal Changes on Women’s Quality of Life in Tanta (Egypt)

Abstract

Natural menopause is a universal experience for women during midlife regardless of race, education, religion or wealth. Menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation because of loss of ovarian functions, whether naturally or after surgery. Menopause, an event often accompanied by symptoms that can have a significant impact on a woman's quality of life. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the effect of menopausal changes on women’s quality of life among a sample of menopausal women in Tanta/ Egypt. A random sample of 150 generally healthy women, who experience natural menopause and free from major medical conditions were included in this study from Tanta university hospital and El-Menshawy hospital in Tanta city. The tool used is Utian Quality of Life Scale (UQOL). This tool is a five point likert-like scale to gain information from women about menopause-related quality of life. The result of this study showed that the majority of menopausal women suffer from vasomotor symptoms, which affect their quality of life. No one of menopausal women received medical help for menopausal symptoms or used hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Menopausal women consider these symptoms as natural and transient, and they wait for the symptoms to pass. The study recommended that menopausal women mainly need counseling about menopause and its symptoms as well as elements of a healthy lifestyle.