Menopausal experiences of Thai women. Part 1: Symptoms and their correlates.

This study was a cross-sectional survey of mid-aged Thai women with the following aims: to describe their experience of symptoms and attitudes to menopause and to examine the relationships between symptoms, attitudes 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 Hospital. Mean age at menopause was 50.13 (SD 4.67) y. Fifty-one percent were premenopausal. 9% perimenopausal and 40% postmenopausal. The symptoms which showed strongest associations (P < 0.001) with menopausal status 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, housewives or landowners and reported their health was not so good and required treatment.