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Depressive Symptoms and Bio-psychosocial Problems among Postmenopausal Women of Udupi District, Karnataka, India
VC01-VC04
Correspondence
Dr. V Binil,
Assistant Professor, Department of Mental Health Nursing, Manipal College of Nursing, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal-576104, India.
E-mail: vp.binil@manipal.edu
Introduction: Menopause is the transition period in women’s life. Though it is a normal phenomenon, it has challenging situations. Many women shift to menopause without facing psychiatric problems; however, there is evidence that 20% of them are experiencing depressive symptoms during this crucial period.
Aim: To identify the depressive symptoms and bio-psychosocial problems of postmenopausal women.
Materials and Methods: A descriptive survey was conducted in three Gram Panchayaths of Udupi district, Karnataka, India. Convenient sampling technique was used to select 290 postmenopausal women between 1-5-years of menopause. Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (IDS-SR) scale was used to assess the depressive symptoms and rating scale on bio-psychosocial problems of postmenopausal women was used to assess the bio-psychosocial problems. Descriptive (frequency and percentage) and inferential statistics (Fisher’s-exact test and one way ANOVA test) were used to analyse the data.
Results: The results showed that 20.7% of women had a mild level of depressive symptoms. Commonly reported bio-psychosocial problem were leg cramps (89.7%), joint and muscle pain (87.6%), backache (87.2%), hot flushes (85.2%), fatigue (79.3%), numbness in extremities (75.9%), night sweating (67.2%), sleep disturbance (66.5%), sexual problems (49.7%), forgetting (31%) and irritation (39.6%). It was also found that there was a significant association between depressive symptoms and age (p=0.001), number of living children (p=0.003), duration after attaining menopause (p=0.012) and age at menopause (p=0.001).
Conclusion: Menopause is one of the most significant events in women’s life. Hence, nurses working in public sector need to identify problems related to postmenopausal women and provide adequate health services.