Symptomatology and hormone profile of menopausal Nigerians.

The alterations in the hormonal levels during menopause have been studied in Nigerian women. There is a significant decrease in oestradiol level of early menopausal and late menopausal women while the testosterone level increased (P less than 0.01). The luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) showed significant elevation (P less than 0.01). The elevation of FSH is about 14 times higher in early menopausal women and 16 times higher in late menopausal women when compared to the level in the control. LH, however, showed an elevation eight times higher in early menopausal women and 12 times higher in late menopausal women. The level of these hormones, the intensity of climacteric symptoms among menopausal Nigerian women and attainable age of menopause were found to be the same as in Caucasians.