Effect of Menopausal Changes on Women’s Quality of Life in Tanta (Egypt)

Natural menopause is a universal experience for women during midlife regardless of race, education, religion or wealth. Menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation because of loss of ovarian functions, whether naturally or after surgery. Menopause, an event often accompanied by symptoms that can have a significant impact on a woman's quality of life. Therefore, the aim of this study is to identify the effect of menopausal changes on women’s quality of life among a sample of menopausal women in Tanta/ Egypt. A random sample of 150 generally healthy women, who experience natural menopause and free from major medical conditions were included in this study from Tanta university hospital and El-Menshawy hospital in Tanta city. The tool used is Utian Quality of Life Scale (UQOL). This tool is a five point likert-like scale to gain information from women about menopause-related quality of life. The result of this study showed that the majority of menopausal women suffer from vasomotor symptoms, which affect their quality of life. No one of menopausal women received medical help for menopausal symptoms or used hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Menopausal women consider these symptoms as natural and transient, and they wait for the symptoms to pass. The study recommended that menopausal women mainly need counseling about menopause and its symptoms as well as elements of a healthy lifestyle. INTRODUCTION: Menopause is a unique experience for every woman, it is a natural process that occurs in women’s lives as part of normal aging; it is a universal experience for women during midlife regardless of race, education, religion or wealth(1). Menopause is a permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from loss of ovarian functions, whether naturally or after surgery (2). In the early 1900's, most women did not live beyond the age of 50; therefore menopausal health was not a great concern (3). Today, women live at least one third of their lives past menopause. By the 836 Bull High Inst Public Health Vol.38 No.4 [2008] year 2020, the United States will achieve a demographic milestone; for the first time there will be as many post menopausal women as there are women of childbearing years (5). In Egypt 2008 18.9% of the total Egyptian female population were aged 45 years and more with life expectancy of 74.52 years (6, 7). Egyptian studies revealed that women’s health needs are often neglected, poorly understood, usually misinterpreted, and seldom discussed. Menopausal symptoms were widely experienced by women and the majority of them used traditional practices like take a bath at bedtime, dress in light, go bed in regular times, and use of herb to overcome this symptoms rather than seeking medical help (8, 9, 10). The frequency and intensity of symptom varies among women. Furthermore, menopause does place women at greater risk for the development of many conditions of aging such as postmenopausal cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Therefore, they would have to cope with the post menopausal syndrome and face the consequences (11). Women can expect to spend a significant portion of their lives after menopause. This period should be a highly productive time for women, and maintaining functional ability and a good (QOL) is of extreme importance. Neglected menopausal changes can have a significant negative impact on overall quality of life (QOL) for a large number of women (12). Quality of life is a multidimensional concept incorporating the individual’s perception of several aspects of life (. Quality of life (QOL) can be defined as one’s own subjective view of their physical health, psychosomatic status, and personal life. Healthy women perception of QOL can be significantly affected during menopause . Reproductive health needs of the older woman should be an area of concern. Menopause should be better understood Hanan Gaber Gabry 837 and more openly discussed than ever before. Nurses can play a significant role in encouraging, supporting, and teaching menopausal women. The information obtained from this study will contribute to the growing body of knowledge on determining the effectiveness of menopausal changes on menopausal women quality of life. Aim The aim of this study is to identify the effect of menopausal changes on women quality of life among a sample of menopausal women in Tanta/ Egypt. Material and Methods A non-experimental descriptive design was used to examine the association among the variable of interest. A random sample of 150 generally healthy women, who experience natural menopause and free from major medical condition included in this study. The study sample selected from the outpatient gynecological clinic of Tanta Maternity University Hospital and ElMenshawy hospital in Tanta city. There ages ranged from 45to 60 years. All women who have the needed criteria were invited to participate in the study in randomly selected three days of the week