Health-related concerns and experiences of employed perimenopausal women in Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract

Our purpose in conducting this descriptive study was to assess the health-related concerns and experiences of a sample of employed perimenopausal women in Alexandria, Egypt. In addition, we explored their help-seeking behavior and their perception of symptoms. We interviewed two hundred working women ages 40-60 years, 42% of whom were nurses, using a semistructured interview form as well as Koos's list of symptoms. The commonly mentioned concerns, in order of frequency, were chronic headaches, chronic fatigue, transportation and phone communication problems, financial problems, job dissatisfaction, backaches, hypertension, kidney disease and gall bladder disease, gastritis/indigestion, menstrual disturbances, arthritis, AIDS, and hepatitis B. With respect to the problems experienced by the women in the past 6 months, there was a high self-reported prevalence of headaches, fatigue, transportation and communication problems, backaches, job dissatisfaction, dissatisfaction with health insurance, financial problems, menstrual disturbances, gastritis/indigestion, gall bladder disease, anxiety, disturbed sleep, and hypertension. Women attempted to manage their problems mainly by taking over-the-counter drugs and self-prescribing (75.5%), doing nothing or using traditional remedies (56.5%), and going to a doctor or health insurance office (40%). Symptoms perceived by the majority of the women as not needing medical attention included loss of appetite, persistent backache, bleeding gums, chronic fatigue, persistent headaches, and loss of weight. The influence of education and occupation on women's perceptions and practices is discussed.