Prevalence of menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women

Menopause is a natural event in a woman's life. It is defined as a time when there have been no menstrual periods for last12 consecutive months and is a unique phase which has many symptoms. Frequency and severity of these symptoms vary among different ethnic groups.

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women of two different groups residing in selected areas of Punjab.

Using cluster sampling technique, 150 postmenopausal women comprising 75 Jatt Sikh and 75 Bania postmenopausal women between the age group of 45–60 years were selected from Majha, Malwa and Doaba regions of Punjab and were interviewed regarding the prevalence of menopausal symptoms. Data was analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Most prevalent symptoms among Jatt Sikh and Bania postmenopausal women were physical and mental exhaustion (84% vs 85.3%), dryness of vagina (82.6% vs 82.6%) followed by bladder problems (76% vs 65.3%), sexual problems (70.6% vs 69.3%), joint & muscular discomfort (68% vs 73.3%), depressive mood (68% vs 60%), sleep problems (64% vs 56%), heart discomfort (64% vs 48%), irritability (62% vs 45.3%), hot flushes & sweating (56% vs 61.3%) and anxiety (56% vs 50.6%) respectively. Somatic symptoms were (91% vs 84%), psychological symptoms were (85.3% vs 84%) and urogenital symptoms were (88% vs 89.3%) among Bania and Jatt Sikh postmenopausal women. There was no statistical significant difference in the prevalence of somatic, psychological and urogenital symptoms.

Almost equal number of subjects among Jatt Sikh and Bania community were getting somatic, psychological and urogenital symptoms and there was no statistical significant difference between the menopausal symptoms among postmenopausal women of Jatt Sikh and Bania community.