Factors Related to Depression During Menopause: A Study in Southern Taiwan

The purpose of this study was to survey the prevalence of women's depression during menopause and investigate the relationships between menopause depression and variables including self-concept, menopause attitudes, life-event stresses, climacteric physiological symptoms, and demographics. Research was conducted using a cross-sectional study and self-administered questionnaires. We randomly selected female participants between the ages of 45 and 55 years from Tainan City in southern Taiwan using the cluster method. Two hundred sixty-six valid questionnaires were analyzed. Results were as follows: (a) The prevalence of depression among participants was 31.2%; (b) depression was positively associated with life-event stresses and climacteric physiological symptoms (r = .23 and .34, respectively) and was negatively associated with attitude toward menopause and self-concept (r = -.31 and -.65, respectively); and (c) by logistic regression analyses, climacteric physiological symptoms and self-concept were associated with menopause depression. This preliminary survey suggests that low self-concept and increased climacteric physiological symptoms are closely related to depression among menopausal women. Larger scale follow-up studies are warranted to investigate factors that predispose women to depression during menopause.