Psychiatric morbidity in perimenopausal women

• Main Authors: Biswajit L Jagtap, B. S. V. Prasad, Suprakash Chaudhury
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2016-01-01
• Series: Industrial Psychiatry Journal
• Subjects: Anxiety; depression; perimenopause; psychiatric morbidity
• Online Access: http://www.industrialpsychiatry.org/article.asp?issn=0972-6748;year=2016;volume=25;issue=1;spage=86;epage=92;aulast=Jagtap

Background: Women in the perimenopausal period are reported to be vulnerable to psychiatric disorders. Aim: To assess the psychiatric morbidity in perimenopausal women aged 45–55 years. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, observational, hospital-based study was conducted at the Department of Psychiatry in a tertiary care hospital attached to a medical college. The study sample consisted of consecutive women in perimenopause as diagnosed by a gynecologist and written informed consent for inclusion in the study. Women with a previous history of psychiatric illnesses, with a major medical illness, or who had undergone surgical menopause were excluded from the study. All women were evaluated with a brief questionnaire for collecting demographic and clinical information and the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for assessing psychiatric disorders. Results: Of the 108 women in perimenopause included in the study, 31% had depressive disorder, 7% had anxiety, while 5% had depressive disorder with anxiety features. Psychiatric morbidity was significantly more in women having lesser education, from rural background, with a history of psychiatric illness in the family, a later age of menarche, and in the late stage of perimenopause. Conclusions: Women in the perimenopause affected by psychiatric morbidity were most commonly diagnosed with depression. As perimenopause is a time of vulnerability in women, attention to signs and symptoms of depression may be required so that they may lead a more productive life.