Association Between Menopausal Symptoms and Occupational Performance Among Women in Menopausal Transition - A Pilot Study

Rashmi Yeradkar, Amitabh Dwivedi

Abstract: One of the most important life transitions for women is menopause, which is accompanied by a number of physiological changes that have long-lasting effects on a woman's quality of life. Aim: To find the association between menopausal symptoms & occupational performance among women in menopausal transition living in the community of Eastern suburb of Mumbai. Materials and methods: Study was conducted among 53 women with the age 45-55 years. Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess menopause related symptoms and occupational performance was measured on 3-point Likert?s scale stating how much percentage of occupational performance was affected due to severity of menopausal symptoms. Results: The mean age of the participants was 48.38 ? 3.16 years & the average MRS score was 22.70 ? 4.3. Majority of the women reported moderate symptoms for hot flashes (43.4%), sleep disturbances (62.3%), depressive mood (64.2%), anxiety (41.5%). A statistically significant association was observed between menopausal symptom severity and occupational performance (p = 0.0028), suggesting that increased symptom severity may adversely impact women's functional roles. Conclusion: The study found that the severity of menopausal symptoms inversely affects the occupational performance among women in menopausal transition.

Keywords: Menopausal symptoms, occupational performance, women's health, functional decline, Mumbai community