Quality of life scale among perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in a rural area of Delhi: A facility-based study

Abstract

Background: The average Indian woman has early onset menopause compared to the global average. Assessment of the quality of life (QOL) among Indian women with perimenopause or postmenopause at health facilities using a rapidly administered, validated instrument is required. Objective: To assess the QOL among perimenopause and postmenopausal women in India and to ascertain the factors influencing their QOL using a brief instrument suitable for clinical use. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during August to October 2019 in the medical outpatient department at a government secondary care hospital in a rural area of Delhi, India. We enrolled women in the age group of 40–59 years. Results: We recruited 136 participants with a response rate of 92%. The mean (standard deviation) age of the participants was 49.2 (6.1) years. A majority (51.2%) of the participants were illiterate, and only 22 (16.6%) were employed. The Cronbach's alpha of the Utian QOL was 0.824, indicating good reliability. The QOL scores of the participants were below average for the occupational and emotional domains, but higher for the health and sexual domains. On bivariate analysis, we found education not more than primary school, not being employed, and having more than two children were associated with lower QOL scores. Conclusion: Women with greater education, employment, with up-to two children and without depressive symptoms reported a better QOL, but it did not differ significantly between perimenopausal and postmenopausal women.