Assessment of symptoms of menopause and their severity among Saudi women in Riyadh

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Research on menopause in Arab women is limited. The aim of our study was to assess the commonly experienced symptoms of menopause and their severity among Saudi women. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional study conducted at King Khalid University Hospital (KKUH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Four hundred and ninety healthy women aged 40–55 years and either attending KKUH themselves or accompanying their relatives in outpatient clinics participated in the study. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) was used to assess menopausal symptoms and severity. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the women in menopause was 47.9 (6.03) years. The most frequent symptoms were muscle and joint problems occurring in 411 women (83.9%), physical and mental exhaustion in 393 (80.2%), heart discomfort in 358 (73.1%), sleeping disorders in 349 (71.2%), hot flashes in 348 (71.0%), and irritability in 348 (71.0%); in addition, 179 (36.5%) of these women experienced severe psychological distress. Perimenopausal women had higher total and subscales scorings for somatic symptoms than did premenopausal and postmenopausal women (P=.008). CONCLUSION: The number of Saudi women reporting hot flashes and night sweats was comparable to the number of Western women. In addition, somatic symptoms were more prevalent among perimenopausal than among premenopausal women.