The menopausal experience of Greek women living in Sydney.
OBJECTIVE
This study was undertaken to investigate the menopausal experience of Greek women as part of a wider survey of four immigrant groups living in Sydney, Australia (the others being Indian, Arabic, and Chinese) and to examine the relationship between common symptoms and various sociodemographic factors.


METHODS
A total of 217 women were interviewed about their menopausal experiences by experienced health workers using the 29-item Menopause-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire.


RESULTS
A total of 217 women participated in the survey. The mean age at menopause for postmenopausal women was 48.6 years (95% CI: 47.7-49.5). More than 96% of the women had lived in Sydney for more than 20 years. A majority (57%) had only received primary education. It was found that the most commonly reported symptoms related to feelings of fatigue (66%) and a decrease in physical strength and stamina (>60%), and nearly as many (59%) complained of lower backache. Fifty percent of the women also complained of psychosocial symptoms, such as feeling nervous and memory loss. Hot flushes were reported by 43%, which is similar to other ethnic groups. The prevalence of vaginal dryness was 79.2% for postmenopausal Greek women in our study.


CONCLUSIONS
Significant findings were found for retired Greek women in the pre- or perimenopausal stage and with psychosocial symptoms (P<0.05); there was also an association between postmenopausal obese and married women with sexual problems (P<0.05).
Liu
Jinzhu
J
School of Women's and Children's Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. jz.liu@unsw.edu.au
Eden
John A
JA
D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000208:ethnology; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology* / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life