The prevalence and severity of vasomotor and sexual symptoms among refugee women in Australia.
Climacteric
; 27(4): 398-405, 2024 Aug.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39022922
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
This study aimed to document the prevalence and severity of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and sexual symptoms among refugee women in Melbourne, Australia.METHODS:
This cross-sectional study included refugee women, aged 18-63 years, recruited from community centers and social media between February and July 2023. The Menopause-specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire measured VMS and sexual symptoms. The scores were compared between different menopausal states.RESULTS:
Of 333 participants, 62.8% were premenopausal, 8.0% perimenopausal and 29.2% postmenopausal, with a median age of 40 years (range 18-63 years). Moderate-severe VMS was most prevalent amongst perimenopausal (20.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 8.9-41.4%) versus postmenopausal (9.5%; 95% CI 5.0-17.3%) and premenopausal (0%) women. Moderate-severe sexual symptoms affected 15.8% (95% CI 5.2-39.3%) of perimenopausal and 16.9% (95% CI 10.4-26.1%) of postmenopausal women versus 1.4% (95% CI 0.3-5.3%) of premenopausal women. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women had higher VMS and sexual symptom scores than premenopausal women (both p < 0.0001); the scores were also higher in perimenopausal women than postmenopausal women (p = 0.016 and p = 0.013, respectively).CONCLUSION:
While perimenopausal and postmenopausal VMS and sexual symptoms are not uncommon amongst refugee women, these symptoms were less prevalent in postmenopausal refugees than in the non-refugee population. Further research is warranted to confirm and expand on these findings.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Quality of Life
/
Refugees
/
Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological
/
Hot Flashes
Limits:
Adolescent
/
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Oceania
Language:
En
Journal:
Climacteric
Journal subject:
GINECOLOGIA
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Australia