Attitude of 40-60 Years Old Women of Ahvaz City towards Menopause and its Relationship with Demographic Factors

Menopause is one of the natural transition stages of growth that could be the cause of physical, mental, social, and psychological changes. Both premenopausal and postmenopausal women's attitudes towards this phenomenon are important issues. The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes towards menopause in women aged 40 to 60 and some influencing factors. Subjects and This is a cross sectional study was conducted on 400, 40 to 60 years old women in Ahvaz city in 2012. Tools for data collection were demographic and attitude questionnaires that were completed by interview. Attitude scores were transformed to 0-20 range. Highest scores were related to better attitudes towards the menopause. Attitude scores less than 10 was considered as a bad attitude, and attitude scores greater than 10 was considered as a good attitude. Data were analyzed in SPSS 16.0 using descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA at a significant level of 5%. Mean of attitude score was 14.4±3.3. Negative attitude was recorded in 14.5% (n=58) of women, and 85.5% (n=342) had a positive attitude toward menopause. There was a significant relationship between attitude score and income (P<0.0001) and education level (P=0.02). Although the majority of women in this study had a good attitude toward menopause, but it is necessary to make more efforts for its improvement.