The severity of menopause and associated factors among middle aged women residing in Arba Minch, DHSS, Ethiopia, 2022

Abstract Background Menopausal symptoms are physiological symptoms that can be caused by a decrease in sex hormone levels particularly estrogen in the blood. It is among the major public health problems of middle-aged women. Particularly severe forms of menopausal symptoms are bothersome for middle-aged women. However little is known about the severity status and associated factors of menopausal symptoms among middle-aged women in the study area. Objective The main aim of the study was to assess the severity of menopausal symptoms and associated factors among middle-aged women residing in Arba Minch DHSS. Methods and materials: Community-based crossectional study was employed. A single population proportion formula was used to determine the sample size. A total of 423 study participants were recruited to conduct the study. A simple random sampling technique was used to employ study participants. Proportional sample size allocation formula was used to allocate study participants in each Kebele of Arba Minch DHSS (demographic and health surveillance site). A menopausal rating scale was used to assess the severity status of Menopausal status. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS version 20. A descriptive analysis was made to describe the Sociodemographic characteristics of the study participants. Moreover, bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were calculated to identify the factors associated with the severity of menopausal symptoms among middle-aged women. On bivariate logistic regression variables with p value < 0.25 were eligible for multivariate logistic regression. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 are considered statistically significant. Result The present study revealed that the prevalence of menopausal symptoms was 88.1%. According to the Menopausal rating scale, 91.2% of the study participants were Asymptomatic, 6.6% of them were mild in severity, 1.2% of them were moderate and the remaining one individual was a severe menopausal symptom. The most severe menopausal symptom was the sexual problem. The factors that have a significant association with the severity of menopausal symptoms were Age with AOR [0.22(0.59–0.87)] and history of chronic disease with AOR [2.334(1.4–24.1)]. Conclusion and recommendation: Generally the prevalence of menopausal symptoms among middle-aged women was high. Asymptomatic and mild forms are the dominant severity forms of menopausal symptoms. Age and history of chronic diseases have a significant association with the severity of menopause. The government, researchers, and stakeholders are recommended to be concerned about this neglected issue.