Quality of life of postmenopausal women in rural area, Nepal

Abstract

Background Menopause is one of the natural phenomena in every woman’s life. The transition phase gradually brings lots of changes in the life of women, both physically and mentally. In Nepal, these changes are often viewed as the symptoms of old age. This study aims to determine the prevalence of menopausal symptoms and their quality of life (QOL). Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in a rural municipality of Jhapa district, Nepal, with study samples of 215 collected using purposive sampling technique. Semistructured questionnaire and MENQOL questionnaire were used for data collection. Descriptive (mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (t-test and ANOVA test) were used for data analysis. The confidence interval was taken as 95% and probability of significance at p < 0.05. Results The study showed that the mean age of the respondents was 53.51 ± 4.42 years with the mean age at menopause being 47.18 ± 6.16 years. The most prevalent symptoms among postmenopausal women were feeling tired or worn out (98.8%), followed by decrease in stamina (94%), decrease in physical strength (91.2%) and lack of energy (90%). The highest mean score was seen in physical domain (2.88 ± 1.61) followed by sexual (2.77 ± 1.93), vasomotor (2.65 ± 1.84) and psychosocial (2.45 ± 1.55). The overall mean score of QOL was found to be 80.06 ± 24.52. Marital status, number of children, educational status, occupational status and health seeking behaviour had significant association with the QOL score. Conclusion The most common symptoms experienced by the postmenopausal women were the physical symptoms followed by sexual, vasomotor and psychosocial. Presence of these symptoms certainly affects the QOL. Hence, effective awareness and education programme regarding the symptoms and ways to minimize those symptoms should be planned and provided both at individual and community levels.

Quality of Life among Postmenopausal Women: A Community-based Cross-sectional Study

“…In the psychosocial domain, we found accomplishing less than earlier as a major symptom which is consistent with the findings of a study from Kavrepalanchok [12]. In contrast to our findings, a study from Jhapa, and India reported poor memory as a major symptom [10,11]. A study from Hamadan, Iran found anxiety as a major symptom [9].…”

“…Higher the score higher is the bothersome experience, which is more in our women than in Iran. In the vasomotor domain, we found sweating as a major symptom which is similar to a study from Jhapa and India [10,11]. But in another study from Kavrepalanchok, Nepal, hot flushes was the major symptom [12].…”

“…In the sexual domain, we found avoiding intimacy was a major symptom. A similar finding was reported in a study from Jhapa, Nepal [10]. Another study from Kavrepalanchok found vaginal dryness during sexual intercourse as a major symptom [12].…”

Is there any association between dietary inflammatory index and quality of life? A systematic review

“…Dietary inflammatory index can trigger inflammatory responses in the body (24, 62) and the inflammatory cytokines are related to low QOL due to physical disability, psychosocial burdens, pain, mood, and sexual function (63)(64)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70)(71)(72) in different conditions and diseases like respiratory tract diseases (24,(73)(74)(75), osteoarthritis and synovitis (76,77), MS (78), obesity (79,80), postmenopausal women (81,82), and hemodialysis patients (83).…”

Quality of Life among Post-menopausal Women in Beni Suef University Hospital

“…Understanding the effects of menopause on quality of life is crucial in the treatment of symptomatic postmenopausal women. We can get a more accurate picture of people's emotions and areas of difficulties in comprehending their requirements and health-care distribution by evaluating QOL (Thapa, & Thebe, 2021). Therefore, the current study was conducted to assess the quality of life among post-menopausal women.…”