Dasgupta Doyel, Ray Subha
a Department of Anthropology , University of Calcutta , Kolkata , West Bengal , India.
Women Health. 2017 Mar;57(3):311-328. doi: 10.1080/03630242.2016.1160965. Epub 2016 Mar 3.
The objective of this study was to explore the relationship between menopausal status and attitudes toward menopause and aging. We identified 1,400 Bengali Hindu women aged 40-55 years (early perimenopausal n = 445; late perimenopausal n = 240; early postmenopausal n = 285; late postmenopausal n = 430) from West Bengal, India. Information on attitudes toward menopause and aging was collected from March 2009 to July 2012 using ten agree/disagree statements, of which three were positive, four were negative, and the rest were neutral. We used only the positive and negative statements in the analyses. The participants were given three response options for each statement: (1) agreed, (2) disagreed, and (3) felt neutral. Agreement with positive statements and disagreement with negative statements were scored as 3. The converse responses were scored as 1. Neutral responses were not scored. Thus, the total attitude score for each participant ranged from 7 to 21. Additionally, data on sociodemographic and reproductive variables, menopausal symptoms, and perceptions toward menopause were also collected. Multivariable analyses (ANCOVA) showed that postmenopausal women had more positive attitudes toward menopause and aging than perimenopausal women. Providing balanced information about menopause and aging might help to foster positive attitudes toward menopause.
本研究的目的是探讨绝经状态与对绝经和衰老态度之间的关系。我们从印度西孟加拉邦确定了1400名年龄在40 - 55岁的孟加拉印度教女性（围绝经期早期n = 445；围绝经期晚期n = 240；绝经后早期n = 285；绝经后晚期n = 430）。从2009年3月至2012年7月，使用十条同意/不同意陈述收集了关于对绝经和衰老态度的信息，其中三条为积极陈述，四条为消极陈述，其余为中性陈述。我们在分析中仅使用了积极和消极陈述。对于每条陈述，参与者有三个回答选项：(1)同意，(2)不同意，(3)感觉中立。对积极陈述的同意和对消极陈述的不同意得分为3分。相反的回答得分为1分。中立回答不计分。因此，每个参与者的总态度得分在7到21分之间。此外，还收集了社会人口统计学和生殖变量、绝经症状以及对绝经的认知等数据。多变量分析（协方差分析）表明，绝经后女性对绝经和衰老的态度比围绝经期女性更积极。提供关于绝经和衰老的平衡信息可能有助于培养对绝经的积极态度。
