Menopausal Symptoms: A Comparative Study among Rural and Urban Women of Eastern India

Abstract

Introduction: In India, socio-economic status, lifestyle, environment, facilities, utilization of resources, education, etc. are the major indicators for the classification in rural and urban population. Material and Methods: This study conducted among 210 rural and urban women in the age group of 40-60 years. Data were collected by using predesigned and pretested schedule and the Greene Climacteric Scale (GCS) was used. Results: The mean age of the participants was 49.20 ± 5.37 years. There were significant differences on the age of menarche, marriage, first pregnancy, first child delivery between the rural and urban women (P<0.05). Significant differences found about the knowledge regarding menopausal symptoms, age of attaining menopause, hormonal therapy, and discussion of menopausal symptoms among them. The most common symptom was loss of interest in sex reported by 72.4% of rural women and in urban muscle and joint pains (73.3%) reported by maximum participants. The menopausal symptoms like pressure or tightness in head and loss of interest in sex found significantly higher between the rural and urban women (P<0.05). Conclusion: Efforts are needed to educate and make the women aware of menopausal symptoms mainly in rural and counselling of all women is needed.

Keywords

• Menopausal status
• Climacteric stage
• GCS