Age at natural menopause in Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran.

OBJECTIVE

With increasing life expectancy, menopause is an increasingly important aspect of women's health. Although research suggests that age at menopause varies in different ethnic groups, data on age at menopause among Iranian women are limited. We recorded the age at natural menopause among women in a population-based study in Yazd, Islamic Republic of Iran, in 2006.

DESIGN

This cross-sectional study estimates age at natural menopause among a sample of 346 menopausal women through cluster sampling and according to their age and the onset of menopause (12 months of consecutive menstrual cessation).

RESULTS

We found that the mean (SD) age at menopause was 47.39 (5.089) years (95% CI: 46.85-47.92) and the median age was 48 years. The Iranian women demonstrated a moderate to high frequency of reporting four symptoms in vasomotor, vaginal, sleep-related, emotional, and somatic categories. Physical factors (height, weight, body mass index, handedness) and sociodemographic factors (educational level, income) were not significantly related to early mean age at menopause.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides an estimate of age at menopause for Iranian center women, which is similar to the overall estimates previously reported for Iranian populations. Different factors influence age at natural menopause; however, there has not been a study in which this factor has been confirmed as a significant factor.