Prevalence of Menopausal Problems and the Strategies Adopted by Women to Prevent Them

Background Globally, elderly women are increasing in numbers. Average age of menopause is 47.5 years in Indian women with an average life expectancy of 71years. While women of reproductive age group (15-45 years) are covered under the Reproductive and Child Health program, the postmenopausal women ageing 45 years and above, are not covered in any specific health program in the country. A cross-sectional descriptive survey design was conducted to assess prevalence of menopausal problems and the strategies adopted by women to prevent them. Methods Women attendants who were present in the tertiary care hospital from Sep-Oct 2013 were included in study. A total of 100 samples were studied. Information was collected through structured interview schedule. Results Out of 100 menopausal women majority (61 %) were in the age group of 45 - 50 years and (39 %) were in the age group of 51 - 55 years. The mean age of study samples were 50.28 years (SD +3.49) the mean age of menopause was 45.26 years (SD + 3.96). Majority of menopausal women experienced joint and muscular discomfort (86 %) and physical and mental exhaustion (81 %). Conclusion The study reveals varying nature of menopausal symptoms which were similar to other studies, the most common symptoms reported were from the somatic and psychological subscale. All study subjects adopted some kind of strategies to prevent menopausal problems at home.