Menstrual change during the menopause transition: do women find it problematic?

OBJECTIVES

To describe changes in the characteristics of women's menstrual cycles during the menopause transition and to identify whether such changes are perceived by women as being problematic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional descriptive study using a community-based convenience sample of 119 women aged 37-70 years. Participants completed a questionnaire to obtain data on demographic characteristics, menopausal status and changes to menstrual flow, duration, frequency and regularity.

RESULTS

There was a common pattern of menstrual change which was of heavier, less frequent, irregular menstruation. Forty one percent of post-menopausal and 40% of women still in the menopause transition stated that, in terms of overall perception, the changes to menstruation experienced during the menopause transition were not problematic or disruptive. When specific change characteristics were examined, significant differences were found in duration of menses (p=0.014) and cycle irregularity (p=0.005) but no significant differences were found on the amount of flow (p=0.125) or frequency of cycles (p=0.142).

CONCLUSIONS

Increased duration and increased irregularity of occurrence of each period are problematic for women going through the menopause transition, however, increased amount of menstrual flow at each period and increased frequency of cycles are not problematic changes.