Study of incidence and severity of menopausal symptoms in women of sub Himalayan region, using the Greene Climacteric Scale

Authors

  • Geetika Syal Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Neha Mohindroo Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Anshul Rana Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India
  • Rita Mittal Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20210742

Keywords:

Climacteric, Depression, Menopause, Somatic symptoms, Vasomotor symptoms

Abstract

Background: Identifying and measuring menopausal symptoms using Greene Climacteric Scale and calculating the mean age at menopause to find out the frequency of the menopausal symptoms so that can be used for better perimenapausal and menopausal care to females.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care center in northern India. All menopausal women in gynaecology outpatient department were enrolled in study, over six months from May 2019 to October 2019. A total of 206 women fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were interviewed using the 21 points Greene Climateric Scale (GCS) Questionnaire. Analysis was done using SPSS 20 Windows software. Descriptive statistics included computation of percentages, means and standard deviations. Level of significance was set at P≤0.05.

Results: The mean age of menopause was 47.9±3.42 years. About 90.3% of the menopausal women studied belonged to the rural population. The most frequently perceived symptoms by females were muscle joint pain (100%), vaginal dryness and pruritus vulvae (84%), lower abdominal pain (79.6%), hot flushes (50.5%).The most frequently reported symptoms as per the GCS were muscle and joint pains, loss of interest in sex, headaches, feeling tired or lacking in energy, difficulty in concentrating, attacks of anxiety, difficulty in sleeping and hot flushes. The mean total score was 17.61.

Conclusions: Menopausal symptoms were common in this study group but women seeking help for the same was less. Therefore menopause clinics and care programmes need to be developed and strengthened to promote better health and higher quality of life in menopausal women.

Author Biographies

Geetika Syal, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

Assistant Professor, department of obstetrics and gynaecology

Neha Mohindroo, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

obstetrics and gynaecology, senior resident

Anshul Rana, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

department og obstetrics and gynaecology

Rita Mittal, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Kamla Nehru Hospital, Indira Gandhi Medical College and Hospital, Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India

professor, department of obstetrics and gynaecology

References

Bermejo JB. Validation of menopause quality of life scale: The MENCAV scale Maturitas. J Midlife Health. 2010;1:56 58.

Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 1996. World Health [2] Organisation. Research on menopause (WHO Technical Report series. No.866).

Vaze N, Joshi S. Yoga and menopausal transition. J Midlife Health. 2010;1:56‑58.

Kapur P, Sinha B, Pereira BMJ, Measuring climacteric symptoms and age at natural menopause in an Indian population using the Greene Climacteric Scale. Menopause. 2009;16:378.

Mundhra R, Dhiman N, Chaturvedi J, Chowdhuri S. Measurement of menopausal symptoms using greene climacteric scale in a tertiary care centre in Uttarakhand, India. J Cli Diagnostic Res. 2018;12(11):QC04-7.

Greene J. A factor analytic study of climacteric symptoms. J Psychosomatic Res. 1976;20:425-30.

Greene JG. Constructing a standard climacteric scale. Maturitas. 1998;29:25-31.

Bairy L, Shalini A, Bhat P, Bhat R. Prevalence of menopausal symptoms and quality of life after menopause in women from South India. Aust NZJ Obstet Gynaecol. 2009;49:106‑9.

Mahajan N, Aggarwal M, Bagga A. Health issues of menopausal women in North India. J Midlife Health. 2012;3:84-7.

DiJulio K. Hot flash severity in hormone therapy users/nonusers across the menopausal transition. Maturitas. 2007;58:191-200.

Hunter M, Rendall M. Bio-psycho-socio-cultural perspectives on menopause. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2007;21:261-74.

Kochman HR, Constantini N, Brzezinski A, Celnikier HD. Regular exercise is the most significant lifestyle parameter associated with the severity of climacteric symptoms: a cross sectional study. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 2013;170:229-34.

Sierra B, Hidalgo LA, Chedraui PA. Measuring climacteric symptoms in an Ecuadorian population with the Greene Climacteric Scale. Maturitas. 2005;51(3):236-45.

Downloads

Published

2021-02-24

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles