The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility

The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility

Application of various menopausal symptoms treatment options and its related factors, Gonabad- 2016

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Narjes Bahri 1
Leila Pourali 2
Habibollah Esmaeeli 3
1 PhD student of Reproductive Health, Student Research Committee, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Assistant professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women's Health Research Center, School of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
3 Professor, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
10.22038/ijogi.2016.7796
Abstract
Introduction: One of the most important challenges in women during menopausal period is disturbing symptoms of menopause and decision about the methods to treat them. With regard of increasing rate of menopausal women, evaluation of symptoms and disturbing signs is valuable. This study was performed with aim to investigate the various treatment options used for menopausal symptoms and related factors.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 460 menopausal women who had at least one of the menopausal symptoms in Gonabad at 2016. The participants were selected by stratified sampling method and completed a demographic questionnaire and menopausal treatment options questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS software (version 16) and analysis of variance and Chi-square test. P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: 229 cases (51.7%) had attempted to treat menopausal symptoms that among treatment methods, hormone replacement therapy (59.5%) and acupuncture (2.9%) had the highest and lowest frequency, respectively. Yoga, acupressure, and reflexology were not used at all. The gynecologists (59.5%) and the midwives (3.3%) had the highest and lowest participation, respectively. No significant difference was found between treatment methods and education, chronic diseases, and the source of information about menopause (P> 0.05).
Conclusion: Hormone replacement therapy was the most widely used method to treat menopausal symptoms. Complementary and alternative medicines were the least used method.
Keywords
Hormone Replacement Therapy
hot flashes
Menopause
  1. Theroux R. Women's decision making during the menopausal transition. J Am Acad Nurse Pract 2010; 22(11):612-21.
  2. North American Menopause Society. Menopause practice: a clinician’s guide. 4th ed. Mayfield Heights, OH: Normal Physiology; 2010.
  3. Jamshidi Manesh M, Peyrovi H, Jouybary L, Sanagoo A. Women’s perception of menopause. Q J Sabzevar Univ Med Sci 2010; 16(4):196-205.
  4. Bahri N, Yoshany N, Morowatisharifabad MA, Noghabi AD, Sajjadi M. The effects of menopausal health training for spouses on women's quality of life during menopause transitional period. Menopause 2016; 23(2):183-8.
  5. Carpenter JS, Byrne MM, Studts JL. Factors related to menopausal symptom management decisions. Maturitas 2011;70(1):10-5.
  6. Obermeyer CM, Reynolds RF, Price K, Abraham A. Therapeutic decisions for menopause: results of the DAMES project in central Massachusetts. Menopause 2004; 11(4):456–65.
  7. Obermeyer CM, Reher D, Alcala LC, Price K. The menopause in Spain: results of the DAMES (Decisions At MEnopause) study. Maturitas 2005; 52(3-4):190-8.
  8. Abernethy K. Managing short-term menopausal symptoms (Section 8). Post Reprod Health 2016; 22(2):63-6.
  9. Aemmi SZ, Dadgar S, Pourtaghi F, Askari Hoseini Z, Emami Moghadam Z. The effect of exercise program using elastic band in improving the old women's health. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil 2015;18(177):20-25. (Persian).
  10. Carpenter JS, Studts JL, Byrne MM. A systematic review of menopausal symptom management decision aid trials. Maturitas 2011; 69(1):11-21.
  11. Kronenberg F, Fugh-Berman A. Complementary and alternative medicine for menopausal symptoms: a review of randomized, controlled trials. Ann Intern Med 2002; 137(10):805-13.
  12. Bahri N, Latifnejad Roodsari R, Azimi Hashemi M. Menopause research studies through passage of time: shifting from biomedical to holistic approaches. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil 2015; 18(154):19-34.
  13. Emami Moghadam Z, Aemmi SZ, Dadgar S, Sardar Abadi F. Improving the performance of pregnant women in oral and dental health based on the Health Belief Mode. Iran J Obstet Gynecol Infertil 2015; 18(176):6-11. (Persian).
  14. Naseh N, Khazaee Z, Ghanbarzadeh N. Evaluation of knowledg, attitued and practice of menopausal women about HRT in Birjand. J Birjand Univ Med Sci 2003; 10(3):35-9.
  15. Sievert LL, Obermeyer CM. Symptom clusters at midlife: a four-country comparison of checklist and qualitative responses. Menopause 2012; 19(2):133-44.
  16. Thompson JJ. Managing menopause: an ethnographic study of women's midlife information–seeking and decision-making in the southweste U.S. [PHD Thesis]. Arizona, United States: The University of Arizona; 2010.
  17. Hill-Sakurai LH, Muller J, Thom DH. Complementary and alternative medicine for menopause: a qualitative analysis of women’s decision making. J Gen Intern Med 2008; 23(5):619–22.
  18. Bair YA, Gold EB, Zhang G, Rasor N, Utts J, Upchurch DM, et al. Use of complementary and alternative medicine during the menopause transition: longitudinal results from the study of women’s health across the nation. Menopause 2008; 15(1):32–43.
  19. Ma J, Drieling R, Stafford RS. US women desire greater professional guidance on hormone and alternative therapies for menopause symptom management. Menopause 2006; 13(3):506–16.
  20. Lunny CA, Fraser SN. The use of complementary and alternative medicines among a sample of Canadian menopausal-aged women. J Midwifery Womens Health 2010; 55(4):335-43.
  21. Odiari EA, Chambers AN. Perceptions, attitudes, and self-management of natural menopausal symptoms in ghanaian women. Health Care Women Int 2012; 33(6):560-74.
  22. Upchurch DM, Chyu L. Use of complementary and alternative medicine among American women. Womens Health Issues 2005; 15(1):5–13.
The Iranian Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Infertility
Volume 19, Issue 26
September 2016
Pages 1-8