Age at Menopause and Associated Bio-Social Factors of Health in Punjabi Women~!2009-09-14~!2009-10-28~!2010-09-02~!

The objectives of present study are to assess the average age at menopause, to evaluate the influence of certain bio-social factors on menopause, and to find the menopausal symptoms experienced by Punjabi women. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 564 Punjabi women of Chandigarh, ranging in age between 40-60 years. Out of these, 288 women who had attained natural menopause form the subject of present investigation. The mean age at natural menopause was found to be 47.91(± 3.16) years. The mean ages at menopause among early and late menopausal groups were 41.04 and 51.05 years, respectively. Statistically significant differences were found for height, weight, and parity, while BMI, body fat, blood pressure, age at marriage, and age at first child birth, failed to reveal significant differences between early and late menopausal groups. The menopausal symptoms, such as, hot flashes and irritability occurred with greatest fre- quency during as well as after menopause among women of the present study.