J Korean Soc Menopause.  2012 Dec;18(3):147-154.

Epidemiologic Survey of Menopausal and Vasomotor Symptoms in Korean Women

• Yum SK
• Yoon BK
• Lee BI
• Park HM
• Kim T

Abstract

OBJECTIVES
Vasomotor symptoms (VMS) are one of the most annoying symptoms experienced by postmenopausal women. Generally, 75% of women over 50 years of age experience VMS. This study is an epidemiologic survey of menopausal symptoms and VMS in Korean menopausal women.
METHODS
Survey participants were recruited from Korean provinces based on the Korean population study conducted in 2010 and using multi-level stratification by age and geographic location, and random sampling. Healthy perimenopausal and menopausal Korean women aged between 40 to 60 years and who participated in the interview survey were included in the study. The Korean version of the Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and the Korean version of Women's Health Questionnaire (WHQ) was used to investigate the prevalence of menopausal related symptoms and to assess quality of life.
RESULTS
Among the 1,500 women, 66% were classified as perimenopause, 28% as menopause, and 7% had undergone hysterectomy. Typically, 41.6% of women in perimenopause reported having experienced VMS in recent six months. About 53.1% of women in early menopause and 36.5% of women in late menopause had experienced VMS in the past six months. Whereas, 30.6% of women with hot flashes, and 27.9% of women with sweating stated that these symptoms were not related to menopause.
CONCLUSION
The prevalence of VMS in Korean women seems to be less than women of Western countries. Overall subjective experience of menopause was perceived as increasingly positive with age. Awareness of menopausal symptoms appeared lower than expected. Perimenopausal and menopausal women in Korea rarely sought medical care.

Keyword

Facial flashing; Menopause; Perimenopause; Sweating; Vasomotor symptoms

MeSH Terms

Aged
Female
Hot Flashes
Humans
Hysterectomy
Korea
Menopause
Perimenopause
Prevalence
Sweat
Sweating
Women's Health
Surveys and Questionnaires

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Perception on menopause.

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  Fig. 2 Prevalence of menopausal symptoms - flashing and sweating.

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  Fig. 3 Facial flashing - duration, frequency, times per day, how long one episode lasts.

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  Fig. 4 Sweating - duration, frequency, times per day, how long one episode lasts, night sweat prevalence.

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