There are recent studies that suggest that cultural differences can make a great impact on how women will go through menopause, according to a report from Youth Health Magazine.
Menopause is a phase that occurs in women by the time they reach the age between 45 and 55, wherein they will no longer be menstruating. Their ovaries will stop creatingthe female hormones progesterone and estrogen.
Various researchers conducted an online survey between 8,200 older men and women in countries around North America and Europe, and asked them how menopause has affected their relationships and sex lives.
The researchers discovered that they found some problems that are akin to problems from people coming from other countries. However, common symptoms (vaginal dryness, hot flashes and weight gain) are different for each nationality, according to Reuters.
Dr. Mary Jane Minkin, an obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive health professor at Yale Medical School, and her fellow researchers focused their survey on women already going through postmenopausal stage, specifically those aged between 55 and 65, and men who are in relationships with women this age, in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Italy.
Results then showed that vaginal dryness was the number one complaint by postmenopausal women living in North America and Europe, followed by hot flashes, night sweats, disrupted sleep and weight gain.
Results also show that the aforementioned symptoms were more prevalent in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom than in other countries and were less prevalent in Sweden and Italy.
Furthermore, women from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom found that the impact of symptoms on relationships both physical and emotional turned out to be "worse than expected," according to the journal Menopause.
