ASSESSMENT OF SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS AND HEALTH STATUS OF POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN IN JAMSHORO, SINDH

Abstract

Background: Menopause is a very crucial phase of a woman's life making her vulnerable to various medical and psychological problems. If not understood and taken well care of, it may lead to decreased quality of life and morbidities.
Methods: This descriptive study was conducted in district Jamshoro Sindh-Pakistan with a sample of 264 postmenopausal women of age ?40 years. Pre-mature menopause cases were excluded. The data was collected through specifically designed questionnaire through house to house visits and analysis was done by using SPSS version 21.0. The ethical approval of the study was granted by Research and Evaluation Committee of Sindh University, Jamshoro.
Results: The age of postmenopausal women ranged from 40 to 90 years with mean of 56.69 ± 12.587 years. The majority of postmenopausal women belonged to 50-59 years group (n=92, 35%). Three-fourth of women reported no formal education as well as monthly household income of PKR 5,000-10,000. Majority of women (n=198, 75%) were married. The most common medical problems among these women were Hypertension (n= 97, 37%), liver disease (n=87, 33%), Diabetes Mellitus (n=25, 9.5%) Kidney disease (n=25, 9.5%), Sleep disturbance n= 14, 5.3%, severe forgetfulness (n=14, 5.3%, Anxiety & Depression (n=11, 4.2%), Heartburn (n= 11, 4.2%) etc. Hypercholesterolemia, Heart disease, Stroke, Joint/ muscular discomfort and Urine incontinence were very uncommon among these women. However, nutritional supplements intake increased with increasing level of monthly income.
Conclusion: This study has found that post -menopausal women in district Jamshoro have poor sociodemographic indicators and common health problems in these women include hypertension, liver diseases and kidney diseases etc.