Comparative study of climacteric symptoms in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women in Tabriz, Islamic Republic of Iran.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to describe menopausal symptoms in Iranian women in Tabriz, north-west Islamic Republic of Iran. A total of 200 women aged 45-55 years completed a Farsi version of the Greene climacteric scale. The mean total Greene scores for 20 items (1 item was excluded) were 29.34 (SD 9.84) for perimenopausal and 28.14 (SD 10.15)for postmenopausal women. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women did not differ significantly in any of the subscales or individual items, except on 2 items: "difficulty in sleeping" and "parts of the body feeling numb or tingling". Comparisons with studies in other countries show that women in Tabriz suffer more menopausal symptoms than European woman.