[Knowledge, Experience and Behavior at Climacteric and Menopause Stages Among Family Medicine Female Users at IMSS.] Revista médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social [Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc] Journal article

Objective: to identify knowledge, experiences and behaviors of climacteric and menopause women users of family medicine services of Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS).
Methods: a descriptive study that included a 37 questions survey about climacteric and menopause was conducted in a national representative sample of 4162 women aged 45 to 59 years between September 2004 and January 2005. The analysis was made by using descriptive statistics and chi(2).
Results: 82.9 % of women knew about menopause or its significance; 82.1 % identified hot flushes as a climacteric symptom; 46.1 % knew about pharmacologic treatment and 25.6 % knew about postmenopausal complications such as osteoporosis. Only 26.6 % mentioned preventive measures as physical exercise or consumption of food with high calcium content. Their main information sources were media communication. Mean age at menopause was 46.8 years old; 57.7 % had symptoms at interview and 18.4 % were taking pharmacologic treatment, mainly (53.3 %) hormones. 11.1 % of treated women had had side effects. 10.7 % had received pharmacologic treatment and 39.4 % had withdrawn from medication either for medical indications or for side effects (23 %).
Conclusions: knowledge about climacteric was scarce and obtained from non-medical sources; use of pharmacological treatment and preventive behavior was low. We recommended reinforcing the information and education about treatment and favorable life styles by health personal.

Revista médica del Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social [Rev Med Inst Mex Seguro Soc]