MENOPAUSAL EXPERIENCES OF THAI WOMEN .1. SYMPTOMS AND THEIR CORRELATES

This study was a cross-sectional survey of mid-aged Thai women with th e following aims: to describe their experience of symptoms and attitud es to menopause and to examine the relationships between symptoms, att itudes to menopause, sociodemographic variables and menopausal status. The sample was 268 women aged between 40 and 59 y who had accompanied patients to the outpatients department of the Royal Irrigation Hospit al. Mean age at menopause was 50.13 (SD 4.67) y. Fifty-one percent wer e premenopausal, 9% perimenopausal and 40% post-menopausal. The sympto ms which showed strongest association (P < 0.001) with menopausal stat us were: joint aches/pain, hot flushes, depression and insomnia. Women most likely to experience symptoms were: older than 50 years of age, had more children, peri- or post-menopausal, of little education, hous ewives or landowners and reported their health was not so good and req uired treatment. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.