Age of Menopause Among Women in Mosul City, Iraq

Background: Low women's awareness of their health during the menopausal period is creating a global hidden problem that affects women's quality of life and their related families and communities. Objectives: The aim of this study was to find changes in the menopausal age after wartime conflict and assess women's knowledge of their health during this critical period. A mixed-method design was adopted. A mixed approach of a multistage cross-sectional study with a sample of 382 women aged ≥ 60 years attending primary health care centers in Mosul, Iraq, was included, supported by private in-depth qualitative interviews with 14 women. Proper statistical analysis was conducted. The findings show the mean menopause age among participants was 48.28 ± 5.33 years; early and late menopause were detected in 6.3% and 29.3%, respectively. The analysis of the age of menopause dependent variable by different independent variables using multiple linear regression shows a significant decrease in the age of menopause among those nulliparous or single women, smokers, subject to stress, and living in middle or low economic status, p-value is < 0.05. Higher parity, higher education, and rural or suburban residence significantly increase the age of menopause among women in a variable range. The majority of women (75.1%) possessed poor knowledge about how to manage their symptoms during menopause, which was simultaneously consolidated by their qualitative expressions. The study indicates that a higher percentage of women experiencing menopause at an unusual age could be a post-conflict effect. This, accompanied by gab of knowledge regarding how to alleviate menopausal symptoms, indicates serious health deterioration which calls for community-based educational programs directed at community strata involved, including health policymakers.