Assessment of symptoms and quality of life among postmenopausal women in a tertiary care hospital in Kochi, South India: A hospital-based descriptive study

BACKGROUND: Menopause is a physiological event in the women's life that can strongly affect the quality of life (QOL). More than 80% of women state that physical and physiological symptoms commonly accompany menopause and affect women's health and well-being. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to assess the menopause-related symptoms and their impact on the women's life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have done a hospital-based descriptive study at the Outpatient and Inpatient Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala, with 150 postmenopausal women. The data were collected using the structured Menopause-specific QOL (MENQOL) questionnaire. The data were collected for 4 weeks from the Outpatient and Inpatient of Department of OBG with inclusion criteria of women who were coming as bystanders' age in between 50 and 65 years. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Mean, standard deviation, frequency, and proportions were calculated. The association between the MENQOL scores and selected demographic variables was found using one-way ANOVA test. RESULTS: < 0.05. CONCLUSION: From the present study, we have concluded that the postmenopause-related physical symptoms are frequently reported by the middle age group classifications. The association between QOL scores with educational status, socioeconomic status, and marital status was statistically highly significant. By nursing education, creating appropriate awareness and health education on the management of postmenopausal symptoms to that age group and it could be reducing the burden of the women population.