Prevalence of Menopausal Symptoms in Osogbo, South‑West, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Menopause is a natural biological process which is associated with a wide range of physical, vasomotor, and psychosocial
symptoms in women with far‑reaching effects on well‑being and quality of life. This study determined the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in our environment.

Patients, Materials and Methods: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study that involved 250 postmenopausal women recruited from  three health‑care facilities in Osun State over a period of 2 months (June 2022 to August 2022). The data were collected with structured  questionnaires and were analysed with appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results: Majority of the 250 women attained menopause at the ages between 55 and 64 years (n = 129; 51.6%), with a mean age at menopause being 58.7 years (±7.8). They  commonly attained menarche at 15–19 years (n = 147; 58.8%) and had five or more previous pregnancies (n = 133; 53.2%). Hypertension  and diabetes were present in 87 (34.8%) and 26 (10.4%) women, respectively. Use of contraceptives was recorded in 128 (51.2%) women,  with intrauterine contraceptive devices being the most common method. The most common menopausal symptom was internal heat in  52% of women; of the women with this symptom, 48% were relieved with medications. Having 4 or less previous pregnancies, having 4 or  less children and previous use of contraceptives had a significant association with late menopause.

Conclusions: This study concludes  that age at menopause is slightly advanced in our environment and there is a high prevalence of menopausal symptoms. There is a need  for support programmes for postmenopausal and elderly women to facilitate prompt and appropriate treatment of these ailments as  well as providing intensive health education for the women.