The influence of educational level in peri-menopause syndrome and quality of life among Chinese women

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the influence of education level in the peri-menopausal symptoms and quality of life (QoL) among Chinese women.

Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study of 1632 peri-menopausal women (age 40–60 y) who visited Hangzhou Women’s Hospital from November 2018 to November 2019. The menopausal symptoms were evaluated by modified Kupperman index (KI). World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was used to evaluate the QoL.

Result: In total, 1501 women were included in the analysis. The mean age of natural menopause was 49.63 years in China. The five most frequent symptoms in menopausal women were Hot flash (75.53%), sexual problems (72.62%), insomnia (67.29%), fatigue (65.56%), and irritability (61.89%). Natural menopausal age, parity, BMI, bone mineral density, depression, skin formication, total score of KI, and the score of WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire were different in different educational background women (p < .05).

Conclusions: The results of the study suggest that education level is associated with the age of natural menopause and menopausal symptoms. A high educational level is correlated with a better score of WHOQOL-BREF in peri-menopause women.

摘要

目的:探讨文化程度对中国女性围绝经期症状和生活质量的影响。方法:我们对2018年11月至2019年11月在杭州妇女医院就诊的1632名围绝经期妇女(年龄40-60岁)进行了横断面研究。绝经症状采用改良库佩尔曼指数进行评估。世界卫生组织生活质量问卷用于评估生活质量。结果:共有1501名妇女被纳入分析。中国自然绝经的平均年龄为49.63岁。更年期妇女最常见的五种症状是热潮红(75.53%)、性问题(72.62%)、失眠(67.29%)、疲劳(65.56%)和易怒(61.89%)。不同文化程度的女性自然绝经年龄、胎次、体重指数、骨密度、抑郁、皮肤形成、生活质量总分、世界卫生组织生活质量-BREF问卷得分存在差异(p < .05)。结论:研究结果表明, 受教育程度与自然绝经年龄和更年期症状有关。在围绝经期妇女中, 较高的教育水平与较好的世界卫生组织BREF生活质量评分相关。

Keywords:

• Menopause
• estrogens
• ovary

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest.