Journal of Human Growth and Development
Print version ISSN 0104-1282
Abstract
SILVA, Andréa Ramos da; FERREIRA, Terezinha de Freitas and TANAKA, Ana Cristina d'Andretta. Gynecological history and climacteric symptomatology of women in a public health unit of the State of Acre. Rev. bras. crescimento desenvolv. hum. [online]. 2010, vol.20, n.3, pp.778-786. ISSN 0104-1282.
INTRODUCTION: the climaterium is a period in women´s lives marked by countless changes and transformations which characterize the end of the reproductive period. OBJECTIVE: to describe the gynecological history and the symptomatology in women in pre-, peri- and post menopausal stages. METHOD: a cross-sectional study with 265 women 35-65 years of age. A descriptive analysis was made according to the gynecological history and the symptomatology. For the bivariate analysis, we used the chi-square test, adopting p <0.05. RESULTS: mean age at menarche, number of pregnancies, number of live births and age at menopause were 13.3, 3.5, 2.8 and 47.5 years respectively. Decreased sexual desire, sadness, lack of concentration and the forgetfulness were symptoms linked to perimenopause (p<0.05). Irritation and hot flashes were statistically associated (p<0.05) with the peri- and post-menopausal stages. CONCLUSION: it is essential for the patient to express her feelings, relate the difficulties and receive information by professionals who attend them about body changes and their health implications.
Keywords : climacteric; menopause; women's health.