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TITLE:
A population based survey of women's experience
of the menopause.
AUTHOR:
Porter M; Penney GC; Russell D; Russell E;
Templeton A
AUTHOR AFFILIATION:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
University of Aberdeen, UK.
SOURCE:
Br J Obstet Gynaecol 1996 Oct;103(10):1025-8
NLM CIT. ID:
97017090
ABSTRACT:
OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence of, and
degree of distress caused by, 15 symptoms commonly attributed to the menopause among a
random sample of women aged 45 to 54, selected from the total population of a
geographically defined area. DESIGN: Postal questionnaire survey. SETTING: Grampian Health
Board area. PARTICIPANTS: Eight thousand women, aged 45 to 54, randomly selected from the
Grampian Community Health Index. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported symptoms, including
depression, and use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) among women of differing
menopausal status. RESULTS: The response rate was 78%; 57% of respondents had experienced
one or more of the 15 symptoms listed, but only 22% had found such symptoms a problem.
Women's experience of classic vasomotor and atrophic symptoms varied according to
menopausal status but experience of general somatic and psychological symptoms did not.
Users of HRT and women whose menopause was iatrogenic found more symptoms a problem.
CONCLUSIONS: Symptoms attributed to the menopause are common among women in the age group
studied but often are not perceived as a problem. Among nonusers of HRT, only vasomotor
and atrophic symptoms vary with menopausal status. Other somatic and psychological
symptoms experienced by middle-aged women cannot be regarded as part of the same
"menopausal syndrome'.
MAIN MESH SUBJECTS:
Menopause/*PSYCHOLOGY
ADDITIONAL MESH SUBJECTS:
Anxiety/ETIOLOGY
Cross-Sectional Studies
Depression/ETIOLOGY
Estrogen Replacement Therapy
Female
Health Status
Human
Middle Age
Prevalence
Scotland/EPIDEMIOLOGY
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PUBLICATION TYPES:
JOURNAL ARTICLE
LANGUAGE:
Eng
On Sabbatical!
When my office
lease expired at the end of 2004, I decided to turn it into a
"sabbatical" from my private practice. Many years ago, in my
grandfather's 89th year of life, he told me, "John, it is important
to smell the roses while you can still smell them." His life
gave living a very good reputation. It is also true that the
pursuit of that philosophy required my grandfather to to re-open his
assay office/ore market in Wickenburg, Arizona as a 75-year-old because
he had run a little short of retirement money. Thus, if blessed with his
luck and health, I'll be back.. --jjh
