title: Vasomotor and urogenital problems at midlife: a study on rural and urban women in India.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  During the transition to menopause, women experience symptoms which vary widely. This variation is attributed not only to the hormonal change, but also to the effect of socio-demographic and reproductive factors.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The present research aimed to (a) find out the rural-urban difference in experiencing menopausal problems at peri-menopausal and post-menopausal stages and (b) to identify the factors associated with these problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  In total, 1400 Bengali speaking, Hindu women, aged 40-55 years were selected from rural and urban areas of West Bengal. Data on socio-demographic and reproductive variables and menopausal problems were collected using appropriate tools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bivariate analysis finds a rural-urban difference for vasomotor, urinary and vaginal problems (p ≤ 0.05). Multivariate analysis revealed socio-demographic and reproductive factors were significantly (p ≤ 0.005) associated with vasomotor (age at menarche, menopausal and residential status, duration of breastfeeding, menstrual discharge type, use of OCP, sterilization and BMI), urinary (ages at menarche and marriage, menstrual bleeding length, use of OCP, menopausal status, monthly household expenditure and BMI) and vaginal (type of menstrual discharge, menopausal status, educational level, monthly household expenditure and BMI) problems for this study group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Socio-demographic and reproductive factors seem to be significantly associated with menopausal problems. Residential status appears to be a confounder variable for menopausal problems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, University of Calcutta , Kolkata, West Bengal , India.
authors.forename: Doyel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dasgupta
authors.forename: Subha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ray
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D052776:Female Urogenital Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008593:Menopause; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population; D014666:Vasomotor System / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Midlife; rural–urban; vasomotor and urogenital problems