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Abstract
Aim To systematically review the published data for the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in Australian women.
Method A comprehensive and systematic literature search was done using six databases to extract all English-language, peer-reviewed studies that contained information on the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among women living in Australia. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using a risk-of-bias tool specifically designed for the systematic review of prevalence studies.
Results Eight independent studies met our inclusion criteria. There was no consistent pattern of vasomotor, psychological, physical or sexual symptom prevalence for the studies that reported symptoms across the menopausal stages. The ranges of the prevalences for the various outcomes were wide. A high level of bias was observed related to both external and internal validities for the included studies.
Conclusion The available data for the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Australian women are not sufficient to allow conclusive findings. A large, appropriately sampled study using a validated questionnaire is needed to establish the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in Australian women.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are grateful to Lorena Romero, a librarian at The Ian Potter Library at The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne for her assistance in searching the literature.
Conflict of interest The authors report no conflict of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the contents and writing of this paper.
Source of funding Ms. Gartoulla and M. Islam are each supported by Monash University Postgraduate Research Scholarships. Dr Davis is an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow (grant number 1041853).