[Health perception, body image, sexual function and depression in menopausal women according to menopausal stages].
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influences of health perception, body image and sexual function on depression according to the menopausal stage in Korean middle aged women.


METHODS
Subjects were 182 perimenopausal and postmenopausal women who had not received hormonal replacement therapy. A five-item General HealthShort Form (SF-36) Health Survey Questionnaire (Ware and Sherbourne, 1992) was used to measure health perception. Body image was measured Semantic Differential scale, CES-D was used to measure the level of depression, and sexual function was measured by FSFI.


RESULTS
The subjects rated their health as 'moderate', their body image as 'moderate, and level of depression as 'high'. However, there were no significant differences in health perception, body image, and depression between perimenopasual and postmenopausal women. Postmenopausal women experienced lower levels of sexual function than perimenopausal women in sexual arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. In stepwise regression analysis, 21.7% of variance in depression was shown to be perceived health and body image in postmenopausal women. However, in perimenopausal women, perceived health and sexual function explained 34.5% of variance in depression.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings indicate that nurses must consider the menopasusal stage when counseling their patients.
Kim
Jung-Hee
JH
College of Nursing Science, Ewha Woman's University, 11-1 Daehyun-Dong, Sodaemun-Gu, Seoul, Korea. jhee90@hanmail.net
Moon
Hyun-Sook
HS
D001828:Body Image; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D047648:Perimenopause / Q000523:psychology*; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000523:psychology*; D012649:Self Concept; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health