Menopausal symptoms and utilization of menopausal hormone therapy among women aged 40-60 years in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract Background: The onset of menopause leads to diminished estrogen exposure, resulting in a high morbidity burden related to menopausal symptoms. Menopausal hormonal therapy is an effective therapy that offers more advantages than disadvantages for women aged less than 60 years or who have had menopause for less than 10 years. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the prevalence of menopausal symptoms, identify factors associated with menopausal symptoms, and assess the use of menopausal hormone therapy among women aged 40-60 years who visited the gynecological clinics of three hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2022 to June 2022 at Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Tikur Anbessa Hospital and Zewditu Memorial Hospital on atotal of 296 middle-aged women. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire and analyzed for sociodemographic factors, utilization of menopausal hormone therapy, and prevalence of menopausal symptoms using the menopause rating scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify independent predictors of each subscale of menopausal symptoms. The strength of the association was measured using odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals, and statistical significance was set at value P<0.05. Result: The prevalence of menopausal symptoms was 89.9%. According to menopausal rating scale, the frequency of reported symptoms was hot flushes (54.7%), muscle and joint pain (32.1%) on somatic subscale; physical and mental exhaustion (55.1%), irritability (48.6%) on psychological subscale; and sexual problems (41.3%), bladder problems (39.2%) on urogenital subscale. This study also showed that the age of women and monthly family income were significantly associated with all three subscales of the menopausal rating scale. There was no utilization of menopausal hormonal therapy to treat menopausal symptoms and to prevent complications. Conclusion: The prevalence of menopausal symptoms is high; however, the utilization of individualized administration of menopausal hormone therapy according to symptoms is negligible. It appears essential for these institutions to work on service availability and delivery of menopausal hormone therapy for those in need of wider benefits of their clients.