Determinant factors of health in rural women in their perimenopausal period

The environment and lifestyle are known to exert an essential influence on the health of rural women in their perimenopausal period. Objective: To assess the determinant factors of health in rural women in their perimenopausal period. Material and methods: The study was carried out in 150 patients of the Gynecological Clinic of the Independent Public Heath Care Team (IPHCT) in Tomaszów Lubelski, southestern Poland, between 1 August 2010 – 30 April 2011. The women, aged 40-60 years, lived in a rural environment or villages. The study used a Menopause Health Questionnaire (MHQ) and Menopause Symptom Scale (MSS). Statistical analysis was based on Chi-Square Test, as well as U Mann-Whitney test, with a pertinence level of p<0.05. Data basis and statistics were collected using computer software STATISTICA 9.0 (StatSoft, Poland). Results: More than a half of the investigated patients lived in the country (60.00%), with the remainder coming from villages (40.00%). About two-thirds of the patients (66.00%) had completed college education, and the majority stated that their financial situation was bad (30.00%), or average (32.00%). Only every fifth woman (19.33%) regularly had a gynecological check-up each year. Signs of anxiety or a depressive mood appeared to depend essentially (respectively: p = 0.000; p = 0.02) on the professional status of the women. Only every fifth woman (20.7%) showed an appropriate weight. Just over a half of the rural women (50.67%) declared having a job. Conclusions: The professional status of rural women has a notable influence on their general well-being in the menopausal period. The majority of rural women hardly took care of their health or well-being. Worse (depressive) mood, irritability, frequent signs of anxiety, palpitation, heat strokes, and sexual disorders become important problems faced by women in the menopausal period.