Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
BMC Womens Health. 2021 Feb 22;21(1):77. doi: 10.1186/s12905-021-01230-7.
Various factors, including menopausal status, educational and social background, culture, and physical and emotional health, may influence women's perceptions of menopause. This study documents the elements influencing attitudes towards menopause among women in Sarawak, Malaysia.
A face-to-face interview using a validated questionnaire was conducted with 324 Sarawakian women aged 40-65 to determine the mean age of menopause and perceptions and experiences of menopause among these women.
The mean age ± standard deviation of the women was 51.37 ± 5.91 years. Ninety (27.8%) participants were premenopausal, 124 (38.5%) perimenopausal and 110 (33.7%) postmenopausal. The majority of these women (228; 70.4%) were local indigenous inhabitants of Sarawak. The findings show that 22.5% of the participants agreed that problems during menopause are a natural process. While 21.9% of the participants suggested that menopause should be treated medically, 32.3% argued that natural approaches for menopause symptoms are better than hormonal treatments. Seventy-five per cent of the women agreed that the absence of menses after menopause is a relief; meanwhile, 61.2% stated that menopause causes unpleasant symptoms. Notably, 51.7% were not sure whether women become less sexually attractive after menopause, and 51.1% were uncertain as to whether they feel less of a woman following menopause. Finally, 81.7% of participants were unsure if sexual activity is more enjoyable after menopause, and 71.9% were uncertain whether changes in life during menopause are more stressful. Among the different menopausal stages, the premenopausal group of women were noted to have more positive perceptions of menopause compared to the peri- and postmenopausal women. The study also observed that women with a better educational background generally had more positive perceptions of menopause.
The women's perceptions of menopause in this study were found to correspond to those in other studies on Asian women. Women with higher levels of education and premenopausal women comparatively expressed more positive opinions regarding menopause. Lastly, most of the women noted that menopausal symptoms are unpleasant, but that the absence of menses after menopause is a relief.
包括绝经状态、教育和社会背景、文化以及身体和心理健康在内的各种因素可能会影响女性对绝经的看法。本研究记录了影响马来西亚沙捞越女性对绝经看法的因素。
对 324 名年龄在 40-65 岁的沙捞越女性进行了面对面的访谈，并使用经过验证的问卷来确定这些女性的绝经年龄以及对绝经的看法和体验。
这些女性的平均年龄为 51.37 ± 5.91 岁。90 名（27.8%）参与者处于绝经前期，124 名（38.5%）处于围绝经期，110 名（33.7%）处于绝经后期。这些女性中，大多数（228 名；70.4%）是沙捞越的本地土着居民。研究结果表明，22.5%的参与者同意绝经期间出现的问题是一个自然过程。虽然 21.9%的参与者建议绝经应该进行医学治疗，但 32.3%的参与者认为自然方法治疗绝经症状比激素治疗更好。75%的女性同意绝经后没有月经是一种解脱；同时，61.2%的女性表示绝经会引起不适症状。值得注意的是，51.7%的女性不确定绝经后女性是否会失去吸引力，51.1%的女性不确定绝经后是否会觉得自己不再像个女人。最后，81.7%的参与者不确定绝经后是否会更享受性生活，71.9%的参与者不确定绝经期间生活的变化是否更具压力。在不同的绝经阶段中，与围绝经期和绝经后期的女性相比，绝经前期的女性对绝经的看法更为积极。研究还观察到，教育程度较高的女性通常对绝经有更积极的看法。
本研究中女性对绝经的看法与其他亚洲女性的研究结果相符。教育程度较高的女性和绝经前期的女性对绝经的看法相对更为积极。最后，大多数女性表示绝经症状令人不适，但绝经后没有月经是一种解脱。
