A Study on Menopause among Midde-aged Women in Korea

우리나라 중년부인의 폐경에 관한 연구

The purpose of this study was to investigate the natural menopause age of middle-aged women in Korea and to analyse various factors affecting them. For the collection of date, 1,140 women aged between 45-54 were selected through stratified sampling technics in Seoul and at a rual area in Kyong KiProvince. They were interviewed from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31,1987 by use of questionnaires made after pilot study had been performed twice. Among them the final subjects for analysis were restricted to only those who had experienced menopause or irregular menstruation during the past one year, the number of which was total 410:206 in urban and 204 in rural area. For the analysis, menopause age was used as dependent variables while fertility variables, socio-economic variables, bio-physical varibles, and insight of life variables were classified as independent variables. Dependent variables such as menopause was tested and analysed by descriptive statistical methods(e.g., frequency, percentage, mean, $X^2-test.$ t-test, ANOVA). The relation between menopause age and independent variables was analysed by use of Pearson's correlation coefficients. For the analysis of various factors affecting menopause age, multiple stepwise regression method was used. The obtained results are summarized as follows: 1. The natural menopause age of Korean women were 47.2 mean age: it was 47.7 and 46.7 mean age in urban and rural area respectively, which revealed that the former was later then the latter by one year. And the recollective error on menopause starting age between the menopause group and the group who had experienced irregular menstruation during the past one year was 0.4-0.7 year. 2. The main factors affecting the menopause age were (1) the duration of marital life, (2) the duration of oral pill use, (3) insight of life and economic status, (4) educational background. (5) menarche, (6) usual menstruation amount, (7) electic charge. and (8) area. These factors. altogether, could explain $18.4\%$ of factors related with menopause, and they took the high percentage in the order mentioned.