Prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Australian women at midlife: a systematic review.
OBJECTIVE
To systematically review the published data for the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in Australian women.


METHODS
A comprehensive and systematic literature search was done using six databases to extract all English-language, peer-reviewed studies that contained information on the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among women living in Australia. Risk of bias of included studies was assessed using a risk-of-bias tool specifically designed for the systematic review of prevalence studies.


RESULTS
Eight independent studies met our inclusion criteria. There was no consistent pattern of vasomotor, psychological, physical or sexual symptom prevalence for the studies that reported symptoms across the menopausal stages. The ranges of the prevalences for the various outcomes were wide. A high level of bias was observed related to both external and internal validities for the included studies.


CONCLUSIONS
The available data for the prevalence of menopausal symptoms in Australian women are not sufficient to allow conclusive findings. A large, appropriately sampled study using a validated questionnaire is needed to establish the prevalence and severity of menopausal symptoms in Australian women.
Women's Health Research Program, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University , Melbourne, Victoria , Australia.
P
P
Gartoulla
M R
MR
Islam
R J
RJ
Bell
S R
SR
Davis
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D019584:Hot Flashes / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008593:Menopause / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
AUSTRALIAN WOMEN; MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS; MIDLIFE; PREVALENCE; SYSTEMATIC REVIEW