Psychiatric morbidity in perimenopausal women.
BACKGROUND
Women in the perimenopausal period are reported to be vulnerable to psychiatric disorders.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the psychiatric morbidity in perimenopausal women aged 45-55 years.


METHODS
This cross-sectional, observational, hospital-based study was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry in a tertiary care hospital attached to a medical college. The study sample consisted of consecutive women in perimenopause as diagnosed by a gynecologist and written informed consent for inclusion in the study. Women with a previous history of psychiatric illnesses, with a major medical illness, or who had undergone surgical menopause were excluded from the study. All women were evaluated with a brief questionnaire for collecting demographic and clinical information and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for assessing psychiatric disorders.


RESULTS
Of the 108 women in perimenopause included in the study, 31% had depressive disorder, 7% had anxiety, while 5% had depressive disorder with anxiety features. Psychiatric morbidity was significantly more in women having lesser education, from rural background, with a history of psychiatric illness in the family, a later age of menarche, and in the late stage of perimenopause.


CONCLUSIONS
Women in the perimenopause affected by psychiatric morbidity were most commonly diagnosed with depression. As perimenopause is a time of vulnerability in women, attention to signs and symptoms of depression may be required so that they may lead a more productive life.
Department of Psychiatry, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University), Rural Medical College, Loni, Maharashtra, India.
Biswajit L
BL
Jagtap
Department of Psychiatry, Dr. Vasantrao Pawar Medical College and Hospital, Nashik, Maharashtra, India.
B S V
BS
Prasad
Department of Psychiatry, Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences (Deemed University), Rural Medical College, Loni, Maharashtra, India.
Suprakash
S
Chaudhury
Anxiety; depression; perimenopause; psychiatric morbidity