Association between quality of life and severity of menopausal symptoms among Saudi women in Al-Ahsa

Abstract

Background and objective: Menopause is not an illness. It is a normal physiologic process at the time that marks the end of the menstrual cycles. The severity, frequency, duration, and impact of these menopausal symptoms vary from woman to woman according to their age, and they affect the overall quality of life. The aim of this study is to verify the severity of menopausal symptoms experienced by Saudi women in Al Ahsa, and to identify the association between the severity of menopausal symptoms and their effects on the quality of life of Saudi women.

Methods: An analytical cross- sectional study involved 427 women aged 45-60 years old. They were randomly collected by researchers who interviewed them in outpatient clinics and obstetrics and gynecology wards from 6 hospitals by using the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) questionnaire and the Menopause Specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire between February 15, 2021 and May 15, 2021.

Results: The average age of participants was between 45-49. The MRS shows that mild symptoms were found in 47.8% of participants, while severe symptoms were 10.6%. The most common symptoms were physical and somatic. The Menopause Specific Quality of Life shows that 52.2% of the participants suffer from mild bothersome, while 7.5% have extremely bothersome. There was a strong positive association between menopause specific quality of life, and menopausal symptoms.

Conclusions: There was a positive correlation between menopausal symptoms and the quality of life of women. Menopausal symptoms have a negative impact on the quality of women's lives. Therefore, the policy makers in the ministry of health could strengthen providing health programmes and health services to women in this age group, besides women in the reproductive age. This can be accomplished by including modules related to the special health needs of menopausal women in the primary center's health programs.