title: Factors related to depression during menopause: a study in southern Taiwan.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to survey the prevalence of women's depression during menopause and investigate the relationships between menopause depression and variables including self-concept, menopause attitudes, life-event stresses, climacteric physiological symptoms, and demographics. Research was conducted using a cross-sectional study and self-administered questionnaires. We randomly selected female participants between the ages of 45 and 55 years from Tainan City in southern Taiwan using the cluster method. Two hundred sixty-six valid questionnaires were analyzed. Results were as follows: (a) The prevalence of depression among participants was 31.2%; (b) depression was positively associated with life-event stresses and climacteric physiological symptoms (r =.23 and .34, respectively) and was negatively associated with attitude toward menopause and self-concept (r = -.31 and -.65, respectively); and (c) by logistic regression analyses, climacteric physiological symptoms and self-concept were associated with menopause depression. This preliminary survey suggests that low self-concept and increased climacteric physiological symptoms are closely related to depression among menopausal women. Larger scale follow-up studies are warranted to investigate factors that predispose women to depression during menopause.
authors.affiliation: Office of Student Affairs, National Taipei College of Business, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shin-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Hung-Fu
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Tseng
authors.forename: Li-Ling
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wei-Ming
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Luh
authors.forename: Bih-Ching
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Shu
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003863:Depression; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008593:Menopause / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan