Domiciliary impact on Menopause experiences of Sub-saharanAfrican women: Knowledge, Attitudes, Prevalence.

T.O. Adedipe¹ˉ², Sanmi-Sule K², Djissi L-A², S.K. Kieghe-Kama³

1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, HUTH NHS Trust, NHS Humber Health Partnership, Hull, UK

2. Hull York Medical School, Hull, UK

3. SYNT Faculty, RCGP, UK

Context: 

Menopause is often understood primarily as the cessation of menstruation, with limited awareness of the broader spectrum of symptoms particularly in the LMIC African woman who often has little formal education, relying on traditional knowledge and community wisdom. The reverse is the case in HIC due to better healthcare services and educational/awareness resources. In Africa, menopause is often seen through a socio-cultural lens, with emphasis on its naturalness and the associated social role changes.

Objectives and Methods: 

Demographics, prevalent symptoms, knowledge and treatment gap specific to domiciles were identified.

An electronic cross-sectional survey administered securely, following stakeholder questionnaire-review, to SubSaharan African (SSA) women domiciled in Africa(LMIC), Europe, North America and the Middle-East (HIC)

Results: 

N= 124 women: 87 completed survey (30% attrition)

51% were in the 51-55yrs age range. 

 

 

Though both cohorts had a similar job profile/educational attainment: mostly professional jobs(80%), LMIC's yearly household income was 33% of their HIC counterparts, 

 

 

 

 

 

Reported symptomatology differed from previous data¹ˉ⁴: and may not be largely representative of the typical LMIC woman due to the high levels of education and relatively generous household-income observed, a possible study limitation.

*Lower menopause age in HIC by 26.4months!!

 

*Despite good knowledge: poor symptom-recognition in SS Africa.

 

*CVD prevalence 15-21% 

 

*Low global HRT use

Important points

Limitations: