The prevalence and severity of vasomotor and sexual symptoms among refugee women in Australia

Objective

This study aimed to document the prevalence and severity of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and sexual symptoms among refugee women in Melbourne, Australia.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included refugee women, aged 18-63 years, recruited from community centres and social media between February and July 2023. The Menopause-specific Quality of Life (MENQOL) questionnaire measured VMS and sexual symptoms. The scores were compared between different menopausal states.

Results

Of 333 participants, 62.8% were premenopausal, 8.0% perimenopausal and 29.2% postmenopausal, with a median age of 40 years (range 18-63 years). Moderate-severe VMS was most prevalent amongst perimenopausal (20.8%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 8.9-41.4%) versus postmenopausal (9.5%; 95% CI: 5.0-17.3%) and premenopausal (0%) women. Moderate-severe sexual symptoms affected 15.8% (95% CI: 5.2-39.3%) of perimenopausal and 16.9% (95% CI: 10.4-26.1%) of postmenopausal women versus 1.4% (95% CI: 0.3-5.3%) of premenopausal women. Perimenopausal and postmenopausal women had higher VMS and sexual symptom scores than premenopausal women (both p < 0.0001); the scores were also higher in perimenopausal women than postmenopausal women (p = 0.016 and p = 0.013, respectively).

Conclusion

While perimenopausal and postmenopausal VMS and sexual symptoms are not uncommon amongst refugee women, these symptoms were less prevalent in postmenopausal refugees than in the non-refugee population. Further research is warranted to confirm and expand on these findings.

Jahangirifar M, Islam RM, Davis SR, Fooladi E. The prevalence and severity of vasomotor and sexual symptoms among refugee women in Australia. Climacteric. 2024 Aug;27(4):398-405. doi: 10.1080/13697137.2024.2376183.