Menopausal Symptoms And Recognition Of Menopause Among Health Professionals In Hebei,China

Objective: This study aims to understand the menopausal symptoms and the recognition of menopausal hormone therapy(MHT)among health professionals aged 40-60 in Hebei,which provides a basis for health services.Methods:From June 1st to September 30 th in 2020,an anonymous questionnaire recruited 1125 female health professionals in Hebei through online surveys and on-site interviews at professional meetings.The questionnaire content includes general situation,menstrual conditions,reproductive history,menopausal symptoms,the recognition of menopause and MHT.The results were statistically analyzed using SPSS 25.0 software.Results: A total of 1125 questionnaires were distributed and 961 valid questionnaires were collected,with a recovery rate of 85.42%.the mean age at natural menopause was 49.85 years.Out of 13 menopausal symptoms,the five most frequent symptoms were fatigue(79.71%),mood swings(74.92%),insomnia(64.31%),muscle/joint pain(60.56%)and sexual problems(56.71%).72.11% participants suffered menopausal syndromes,most of them had mild to moderate symptoms.The prevalence of menopausal syndrome is related to menopausal status.62.85% female health professionals were fully aware of early menopausal symptoms,and 42.87% were fully aware of long-term menopausal impacts.69.72% participants have felt that menopausal symptoms should be treated.43.39% participants were aware of MHT,and 58.48% were fully aware of the benefits of MHT.58.27% of them were willing to accept MHT,but only 11.97% had used MHT.65.7% health professionals would recommend MHT to other people and 85.95% intent to know about menopause and MHT.Conclusions:1.The mean age at natural menopause of female health professionals in Hebei was 49.85 years,which was consistent with the natural menopause age of Chinese women and earlier than that of women in Western countries.2.In Hebei,menopausal syndromes occurred in most of the female health professionals aged 40-60,most of which were somatic and psychological symptoms.Most participants suffered multiple menopausal symptoms.A few health professionals suffered vasomotor symptoms,while most postmenopausal women were bother with sexual problems.The prevalence rate of menopausal syndromes in health professionals was high.Most of them had mild to moderate symptoms.3.In Hebei,the lack of awareness of early menopausal symptoms and long-term menopausal hazards caused the negative attitudes of health professionals toward menopause management.Furthermore,they were less aware of MHT,which caused their low usage,low acceptance and low recommendation rate of MHT.4.There was a great demand for knowledge about menopause and MHT in Hebei.In order to help menopausal women,we should strengthen the promotion and popularization of menopause-related knowledge.