Urogenital symptoms of postmenopausal women in Turkey.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to collect data on the prevalence and risk factors of urogenital symptoms in postmenopausal women in Turkey.


METHODS
The study was performed with the participation of 510 postmenopausal women who presented to previously defined clinics for reasons other than urogenital complaints. Women completed a questionnaire including questions about their demographic properties and their urogenital symptoms. Data were analyzed by SPSS 10.0. The chi-square test was the statistical test of choice.


RESULTS
The mean age of participants was 58.64 +/- 8.14 years. The mean age of menopause was 47.21 +/- 4.36 years. Urinary frequency was found to be the most common postmenopausal urogenital symptom (16.5%), followed by stress incontinence (10.4%), dyspareunia (10%), and vaginal dryness (9.6%). Risk factors investigated were found not to affect the prevalence of the vaginal symptoms in postmenopausal women. Dysuria was found to be more common in women with diabetes mellitus (P = 0.022) and in women who had given birth to more children (P = 0.018). Stress incontinence was more common in those 60 years of age or older (P = 0.03), in those who had been in the postmenopausal period for more than 20 years (P = 0.01), and in those who had more than three pregnancies (P = 0.047) or who had given birth to more than three children (P = 0.011). Diabetes mellitus (P = 0.001) and use of hormone therapy (P = 0.001) significantly increased the prevalence of urinary frequency.


CONCLUSIONS
Urogenital symptoms observed in our population were found to be fewer than reported previously. Symptoms that appear in the postmenopausal period may be related to several factors such as age, number of births, time elapsed since menopause, presence of diabetes mellitus, and use of hormone therapy, but this topic requires further study.
Bozkurt
Nuray
N
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey. nmbozkurt@yahoo.com
Ozkan
Segil
S
Korucuoğlu
Umit
U
Onan
Anil
A
Aksakal
Nur
N
Ilhan
Mustafa
M
Himmetoğlu
Ozdemir
O
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017698:Postmenopause; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology; D014555:Urination Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014623:Vaginal Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*