The Age at Menopause and Related Factors in Korean Women

The relation of menopausal age to risk factors for breast cancer (Kelsey, Gammon, & John, 1993), and to postmenopausal osteoporosis (Kritz-Silverstein & Barrett-Connor, 1993) and cardiovascular disease (Hu et al., 1999; Matthews et al., 1989; Palmer, Rosenberg, & Shapiro, 1992) makes age at menopause an important research issue. The Korea National Statistical Office (1996) has predicted that the average life expectancy for Korean women will be 77.4 years in the year 2000. According to the recent population census, about 26 percent (5.88 million) of the total population (20.86 million) of Korean women were older than 45 years of age (Korea National Statistical Office, 1997). This data indicates that the lifespan after menopause in Korean women occupies one third of the total life expectancy and the distribution ratio of Korean women who are more than 45 years old occupies one fourth of the total population of Korean women. Despite this major demographic shift, current knowledge about middle-aged women in Korea regarding menopause remains incomplete. To our knowledge, only one large selected clinic population-based study (Min & Ku, 1986) has been done in Korea. Health and risk factors such as life style behaviors were not considered in the study. In addition, more than ten years have elapsed since this study was done. The absence of reliable data makes it difficult to address the relevant health and social issues related to menopause. Also, extrapolating from information mainly made in Western societies to those of Asian societies may be hazardous. As Diczfalusy (1987) indicated, there exists a critical need to establish specific data based on the age distribution and sociocultural significance of menopause. The purThe Age at Menopause and Related Factors in Korean Women