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Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."
Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011
Dr. Shankar P.R.
"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."
Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011 Anuradha
Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.
Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020
Original article / research
Full Version
Comparative Study Of Menopausal Symptoms In Post Menopausal And Perimenopausal Women
Correspondence Address :
Dr.Chowta N.K.,Email:muktachowta@yahoo.co.in
Introduction: There is a wide variation in the frequency with which women from different ethnic groups and different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds report the occurrence of symptoms associated with their menopause. The present study is addressed to the myriad of menopausal factors that affect women’s health and to compare the menopausal symptoms among the high and low socioeconomic groups.
Methodology: A prospective, non- interventional study was conducted in 200 females belonging to the post menopausal and perimenopausal age groups. Subjects who had hysterectomy, oophorectomy, and those who were on hormonal replacement therapy, steroids, calcium and vitamin D supplementation were excluded from the study. Detailed history was taken down from each subject. All subjects underwent complete physical examination including height and weight check. Routine investigations were done in all subjects. ECG and X-rays of vertebra and long bones were taken whenever it was necessary.
Results: Perimenopausal women reported greater number of symptoms when compared to the postmenopausal group. Vasomotor symptoms and psychological symptoms showed a higher proportion in the perimenopausal group when compared to the post menopausal group, which was statistically significant. In the perimenopausal group, 68% reported vasomotor symptoms and 29% reported psychological symptoms. In the post menopausal group, vasomotor symptoms were reported by only 16%, and another 16% reported psychological symptoms. There was no significant difference in musculoskeletal and genitourinary symptoms between the two groups. Genitourinary and psychological symptoms were common in the middle socioeconomic group when compared to the lower socioeconomic group. Vasomotor symptoms were more common in the lower socioeconomic group.
Conclusion: Perimenopausal women reported a greater number of menopausal symptoms when compared to post menopausal women. Women of middle socioeconomic status had more genitourinary and psychological symptoms whereas, women of the lower socioeconomic group reported more vasomotor symptoms.
Post menopausal, perimenopausal, menopausal syndrome.
Introduction
Natural menopause is consistently defined in epidemiological literature as the last menstrual period observed retrospectively, as 12 consecutive months of amenorrhoea without an obvious cause. The term perimenopause includes the period immediately before the menopause, and the first year after menopause. It starts when the endocrinological, biological and clinical features of approaching menopause commence(1). The most characteristic hormonal change in the menopausal transition is a progressive, though often fluctuating rise in the level of serum FSH. The rise in LH levels tends to occur later, and is less marked. The progressive increase in the life span has resulted in an increasing number of women living long after the menopause, and developing long term consequences of menopause such as osteoporosis, psychogenic manifestations and atherosclerotic heart diseases(2). There is a wide variation in the frequency with which women from different ethnic groups and different socioeconomic and educational backgrounds report the occurrence of symptoms associated with menopause(3). Socioeconomic status is an important determinant of health and nutritional status, as well as morbidity and mortality. The variables that affect the socioeconomic status are different in the urban and rural population. The present study is addressed to the myriad of menopausal factors that affects women’s health, and to compare the menopausal symptoms among the high and low socioeconomic groups.
A prospective, non- interventional study was conducted in 200 females belonging to the post menopausal and perimenopausal age groups. Subjects who had hysterectomy, oophorectomy and those who were on hormonal replacement therapy, steroids, calcium and vitamin D supplementation were excluded from the study.
Subjects who self reported 3-9 months of amenorrhoea, and those subjects without amenorrhoea but with a self report of increased irregularity, were included in the perimenopausal age group(3). Menopause is defined as the last menstrual period observed retrospectively as 12 consecutive months of amenorrhoea without an obvious cause(2).
Detailed history was taken down from each subject. All subjects underwent complete physical examination including height and weight check. Routine investigations were done in all subjects. ECG and X-rays of vertebra and long bones were taken whenever it was necessary.
The socio-economic status scale (SES scale) developed by Kuppuswamy, was used to measure the socio-economic status of individuals in an urban community. Three variables- education, occupation and income were included in the scoring system. Scores <10 was included in the lower SES, and scores from 11-25 in the middle class group.
A total of 200 subjects were included in the study, out of which 100 belonged to the perimenopausal age group, and the other 100 belonged to the post menopausal age group. Perimenopausal women reported greater number of symptoms when compared to the postmenopausal group. Vasomotor symptoms and psychological symptoms showed a higher proportion in the perimenopausal group when compared to the post menopausal group, which was statistically significant. In the perimenopausal group, 68% reported vasomotor symptoms, and 29% reported psychological symptoms. In the post menopausal group, vasomotor symptoms were reported by only 16%, and another 16% reported psychological symptoms. There was no significant difference in the musculoskeletal and genitourinary symptoms between the two groups.
Genitourinary and psychological symptoms were common in the middle socioeconomic group when compared to the lower socioeconomic group. Vasomotor symptoms were more common in the lower socioeconomic group. Vasomotor symptoms were reported by 89% in the lower socioeconomic group. There were no reports of psychological symptoms in the lower socio economic group. There was no significant difference in musculoskeletal symptoms with respect to the socioeconomic status. Genitourinary symptoms were reported in 47.7% of the middle socioeconomic group, and psychological symptoms were reported in 44.6% of the middle socioeconomic group, which is statistically significant when compared to the lower socioeconomic group.
(Table/Fig 1), (Table/Fig 2)
The most characteristic symptoms of the menopausal syndrome are hot flushes, sleep disturbances and mood changes resulting from the hyperactivity of the mid brain- hypothalamic- pituitary axis, and from changes in the central nervous system. Musculoskeletal symptoms characterized by back ache, fractures on minimal trauma, decreased height, and mobility are common due to osteoporosis. The most common symptoms observed in the present study were musculoskeletal symptoms, which were seen in 98(48%) subjects, followed by vasomotor symptoms which were seen in 84(42%) patients. Genitourinary symptoms like incontinence, frequency, urgency, difficulty in voiding etc, were seen in 52 patients, and psychological symptoms were seen in 45 patients.
An earlier study by Taylor also showed that musculoskeletal symptoms were the most prevalent complaints, followed by psychological symptoms(5).
Our study showed that perimenopausal women showed greater symptoms when compared to menopausal women. A study by Taylor also showed that menopausal symptoms peak at the perimenopausal period, followed by a decline in symptoms during the post menopausal period(5). The specific symptoms that increased at perimenopause may be subclinical signs of underlying biological and cognitive changes due to sudden changes in ovarian hormones. In contrast to the study done by Berg et al(6), the present study showed that vasomotor symptoms were more prevalent in the perimenopausal group, while musculoskeletal symptoms were common in the post menopausal age group.
Lagos et al(7) showed that women of low socioeconomic status had greater prevalence of biological and psychological symptoms. Van Keep and Kellrhals demonstrated that women of the lower socioeconomic group have more severe menopausal symptoms and poorer subjective adaptation to daily life than women of the higher socioeconomic class(8). This is in contrast to the present study, which showed a greater prevalence of musculoskeletal and psychological symptoms in the middle socioeconomic group, while vasomotor symptoms were found to be more prevalent in the lower socioeconomic group. The difference found in the study could be due to sociocultural factors that are known to modify the experience of menopause and midlife. The loss of attractiveness and youth has a negative impact on the individual’s perceptions of middle age. The kind and quality of interpersonal relationships that a woman has with her family and others, influences how well she copes with midlife.
Perimenopausal women have more menopausal symptoms than post menopausal women.
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