Raising awareness of menopause in Iran

Fewer than half of Iranian women have good awareness about the symptoms and complications of menopause and ways of preventing them, according to research published in the Journal of Local and Global Health Science¹. 

Menopause marks the end of a woman's fertility period, when the menstrual cycle stops. It occurs between the ages of 40 to 60, with symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, exhaustion and dizziness. It can also come with an increased risk for physical and mental health problems, including depression, vaginal infection, and weight gain. 

Sareh Bakouei of the Babol University of Medical Sciences, Iran, and her colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study of 220 women aged 40 years and older from three urban healthcare centers in Iran. The participants were divided into four groups, based on age, and asked to complete a questionnaire designed to assess their awareness of menopause. 

The questionnaire consisted of 13 questions about symptoms and complications, and 18 questions about their awareness of how to prevent them. These were all multiple choice questions, which required a response of “correct”, “incorrect” or, “I don't know”. 

According to their results, the vast majority of participants (85%) had read or heard something about the menopause, from relatives, friends, healthcare workers, books, and television or radio. Yet less than half of them had good awareness of these issues, based on the number of correct responses given.   

The study also found that there was a level of disparity in women’s awareness of issues of menopause related to their marital status, the number of children they have, their job, and their level of education and income. Women with one or two children had greater awareness than those with more than four. Those with a higher income and level of education had significantly greater awareness than those with average or low income and education.  

The results also showed that nearly two-thirds of the participants (60.5%) had no information about hormone replacement therapy, which can effectively alleviate menopausal symptoms.

1. Bakouei, F., Basirat, Z., Salmalian, H., Omidvar, S. & Bakouei, S. Assessment of women’s awareness level about symptoms and complications of menopause and methods to their prevention. J. Local Global Health Sci. 2013, 6 (2013). | article