Perception of Menopausal Symptoms Among Menopause Women in Basra Southern Iraq: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: To understand the prevalence of postmenopausal symptoms, their order in frequency, as well as the age at onset of menopause in the community is an important step to provide the best quality of care for menopausal women. Objective: The study aims to investigate the prevalence of postmenopausal symptoms, menopausal age of onset and perception of menopause among women in Basra, Southern Iraq. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in two major hospitals in Basra Southern Iraq (Al Mawani Teaching Hospital and Al Shifaa General Hospital), from 1/1/2019 to 1/6/2019. Five hundred participants were interviewed by a questionnaire. Results: The participants` age ranged from 41-65 years. The mean age at menopause was 47.7 ± 2.1 years. The most common complaints were hot flushes (70.8%) followed by back and joint pain (49%), night sweats (32%) and insomnia (25.6%). There was a significant association between age at menopause with body mass index (p=0.00) and the number of menopausal symptoms (p=0.009). While there were no significant relationships between age at menopause and education status (p=0.38), marital status (p=0.133), employment (p=0.86), or income (p=0.12). Conclusion: Despite the fact that the participants were aware of menopause and its natural occurrence, a minority of them sought medical advice or received hormone replacement therapy. Hot flushes are the most common symptom of menopause.