Management of Menopausal Symptoms in Mongolia

The world population reached about 7 billion nowadays. Half of the world' s population is female. At the same, 50 years and over aged women are living approximately more than 470 million women in the world. Twenty-five percent of women have severe postmenopausal symptoms, which can seriously affect a woman' s quality of life. In worldwide, millions of women live 30% to 40% of their lifetimes after the menopause. Large population-based studies have estimated the mean or median age of natural menopause in western women as 50 to 52 years. 1 The median age at menopause in Europe ranges from 50.1 to 52.8 years and in Asia from 42.1 to 49.5 years. Among Korean women, common (46.7%) menopausal age was around 46 to 50, but some of them (39%) were 51 to 55 years. 2 The population of Mongolia reached 3 million last years with 12% of them being women aged 50 and over. Mean age at menopause of Mongolian women is 49.7 years. The combination of high altitude and extreme weather in Mongolia requires the average Mongolian to consume a high protein diet and fatty red meat, in fact, it is the highest in Central Asia. 3 Even red meat has the source of protein and essential nutrients but it may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. Besides, a high number of cardiovascular diseases are causes of obesity woman of menopausal age and unbalanced diet. Menopause is a normal physiologic and biological process, which is defined by the absence of menstrual periods for 12 consecutive months. The changes associated with menopause and the perimenopause occur when ovarian function diminishes and ceases. 4,5 Many of women aware of the symptom of menopause which includes hot flushes, sweats, depression and mood changes, sleep disturbance, musculoskeletal pain, vaginal dryness and decreased sexual function (Table 1). 4 In Mongolia, the most reported symptom is hot flashes and night sweat same as the Korean woman. 3 The hot flashes and night sweats which resolve spontaneously in time, in contrast, atrophic symptoms affecting the vagina and lower urinary track are often progressive and less likely to resolve without intervention. In early perimenopause, the prevalence of urogenital symptoms occurs 4%, rising to 25% one year after menopause and reaching to 47% three years after menopause which affecting sexual function and quality of women' s life. 6 Postmenopausal hormone therapy is the treatment of first choice of …