日本女性医学学会は更年期障害から老年期の医学的諸問題まで思春期も含め女性の一生を通じ研究する医療従事者の団体です。

ORIGINAL A Study of menopause knowledge characteristics amongst middle aged women and the development of the Scale of Menopause Knowledge

Yoshiko Miyaoka1) 2) , Kayoko Ueda 2),
Toshiko Kamo 2)
1) Department of clinical psychology, faculty of letters, Atomi University
2) Institute of Women’s Mental Health, Tokyo Women’s Medical University

Abstract We developed the Scale of Menopause Knowledge and investigated characteristics of the knowledge amongst 76 patients with climacteric disorder and 49 healthy middle-aged women using this scale. The scale asks how much a testee knows about menopause and climacteric disorder. Six factors emerged from a factor analysis of the scale; such as “decrease of estrogen”, “vascular, autonomic nervous, or psychological symptoms”, “health issues related to the aging process”, “urogenital, articular symptoms or others”, “treatments”, and “general knowledge”. The reliability and content validity were confirmed. The total score and subscale scores (except for “health issues related to the aging process”) amongst patients were higher than those in healthy women. Women who were highly educated, or experienced postpartum depression got higher scores on this scale both in patients and healthy women. Women undergoing treatment for depression in the patient group got higher scores. Women currently undergoing treatment for depression and women who have experienced a postpartum depression seem to become more interested in the physical condition of their bodies and are more knowledgeable about menopause and climacteric disorder. The Scale of Menopause Knowledge will be useful for educating women about menopause.
 
ORIGINAL

Current status of vaginal symptoms in postmenopausal Japanese women: an analysis of internet questionnaire responses

Kiyoshi Takamatsu 1), Kayoko Ito 2), Mariko Ogawa 1), Kaname Nohno 3), Aki Yamada 4), Saori Funayama 2)

1) Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital
2) Geriatric Dentistry, Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital
3) Division of Preventive Dentistry, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences
4) Division of Dysphagia Rehabilitation, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences

Summary
　In order to study the current prevalence of vaginal symptoms in postmenopausal Japanese women, we analyzed responses from outpatients of menopause clinic as well as those from general postmenopausal women who participated in an internet questionnaire survey.
　Subjects included 121 post-natural-menopausal outpatients who visited the menopause clinic in Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital. We also analyzed the responses of 132 premenopausal women and 152 post-natural-menopausal women to a Macromill, Inc. internet research system. Subjects selected one of four levels to assess the severity of the following four symptoms: vaginal dryness, vaginal discharge, vaginal itching, and dyspareunia.
　Some vaginal symptoms showed a prevalence rate of 28.9% in general postmenopausal women, which was significantly lower than the 50.4% shown in outpatients of menopause clinic. Levels of all symptoms except for vaginal irritation were also significantly lower in general postmenopausal women. Relative to premenopausal women, general postmenopausal women had somewhat lower prevalence rates for coital pain, and significantly lower prevalence rates for vaginal discharge and vaginal itching. Despite no significant difference in the prevalence rates of symptoms, in cases where symptoms were severe, the prevalence rate of dyspareunia was four times higher in postmenopausal women.
　Analysis of the association between vaginal symptoms and other climacteric symptoms revealed that 72.7% of the women with vaginal symptoms had complications with depression, significantly higher than the 50.0% noted for hot flashes. This indicates a need for research regarding psychogenesis associated with vaginal symptoms.
　Vaginal symptom prevalence rates noted for postmenopausal women in the present study were lower than that in reports from Europe and America. However, it should be emphasized that our results still show that approximately 30% of these women have complaints. Future research should analyze background factors, study application methods, and take a larger-scale approach to clarify the reality surrounding vaginal symptoms in Japanese women.