Menopause and its symptoms....A way of life; not the end of life. A cross-sectional study among peri-menopausal women in Vadodara
Objective: To estimate prevalence of menopausal symptoms among peri-menopausal women and association of bio-chemical markers with musculo-skeletal(MS-osteoporotic) symptoms
Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in the field areas of Department of PSM,Medical College Baroda.Study tool was developed and validated with the Menopausal Rating Scale(MRS) in a pilot study.Taking prevalence 40% (p) at 95% confidence and power 80, sample size was estimated to145(npower 2.0) each,for rural and urban area..290 peri-menopausal age group women(45-55 years;defined by Indian Menopausal Society-IMS) were interviewed purposively.Psycho-somatic,genito-urinary and MS symptoms experienced by them(scored from 0-4) were documented.VitaminD and S.Calcium levels were measured after taking written consent and correlation between musculo-skeletal symptoms was determined using Spearman’s Correlation coefficient(Ƿ- rho).
Results: Common psychosomatic symptoms experienced was physical exhaustion- fatigue(73%),difficulty climbing stairs(59%) and sleep problems(45%).Most common genito- urinary symptoms were urinary urgency(35.9%),increased frequency of urine(31.7% ) and incontinence(30%).Joint pain(74%) was the most common musculo-skeletal symptom followed by joint and muscular discomfort(72%).Difference in the median genito-urinary and musculo-skeletal score was statistically significant in the menopausal and pre- menopausal groups(p=0.008 and p<0.0001)respectively.There was a weak positive and weak negative correlation;statistically insignificant; between the musculo-skeletal score and Vitamin D and S. Calcium levels(Ƿ= 0.059;CI:-0.05 to 0.17 and Ƿ =-0.018;CI:-0.13 to 0.09) respectively.
Conclusion: Peri-menopausal women experience several psycho- somatic,genito-urinary and musculo-skeletal symptoms.Parameters like Vitamin D and S.Calcium need to be evaluated for their importance for correlation of symptoms;with a need to look for other markers