Post-traumatic stress in postmenopausal and non-menopausal women after hysterectomy in selected hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2019

Hysterectomy, as one of the most common gynecological surgeries, has a negative effect on the psychological dimension of women. This study was performed with aim to compare postmenopausal and non-menopausal women who underwent hysterectomy in terms of posttraumatic stress.  

This analytical-cross-sectional study was performed on 154 postmenopausal and non-menopausal women who underwent hysterectomy in Hazrat Zeinab and Shahid Dr. Faghihi hospitals in Shiraz from August to the end of January 2019. The posttraumatic stress date was collected through Weiss & Marmar questionnaire. Data were also analyzed by SPSS software (version 16) and descriptive statistics and inferential statistics tests of independent t-test and paired t-test. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Mean Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS) score increased one week after the operation and decreased two months after the operation (p= 0.179). The score of stress was lower in the menopausal group (4.99±6.02) than the non-menopausal group (6.49 ± 7.72). Also, there was no significant difference between the mean PTS score of postmenopausal and non- menopausal two months after the surgery (p >0.05).

Although hysterectomy increases stress in postmenopausal and non-menopausal groups with significant differences in the non- menopausal group, but after two months, the PTS score significantly decreased. More attention from midwives and clinic staff on mental health is essential.