The menopausal age, related factors and climacteric symptoms in Turkish women

An interview based survey to reveal age at menopause and associated factors was conducted in a clinic based sample of Turkish women living mainly in an urban area. Interviews by a psychologist were obtained from 1500 women aged 41-70. The study included only women who had undergone natural menopause and had their last menstrual bleeding at least 1 year previously. The mean and median age at menopause was 47.8 +/- 4.0 and 51, respectively. Parity and BMI had a statistically significant impact on the age of menopause (P = 0.0397 and 0.0403). The most common symptoms were muscle and-or joint and-or bone pain (82.3%) and hot flushes (73.9%). Although the population was clinic based, this study is the first one of its kind in Turkish women. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.