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Abstract
The climacteric is a universal phenomenon which has received relatively little attention
from psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists, anthropologists and social workers
all over the world, but almost no research on this subject has been carried out in
the third-world countries. This study, carried out in India, has been conducted for
the purpose of unravelling the difficulties that Indian women have to face during
the climacteric.
405 married women between 40 and 55 yr of age from the general population were contacted
and interviewed.
The results, obtained with the menopausal symptom checklist prepared by the authors,
indicate (as do other recent surveys) that hot flushes, night sweats and insomnia
seem to be clearly associated with the menopause. Also the incidence of other symptoms
is described. Despite embarrassment or discomfort experienced from these symptoms
by a majority of women, only 10% had apparently sought medical treatment. This study
underlines the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to the problems of menopause
and ageing.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
October 13,
1980
Received:
March 25,
1980
Identification
Copyright
© 1981 Published by Elsevier Inc.