New Delhi, (WFS) - Indian women invariably feature at the bottom of global health and wellness surveys. But that's not all. A recent survey now shows that they are at a phenomenally high risk of suffering from 'premature menopause' with many experiencing this biological transition even before they've hit the third decade of their lives!

Changing dynamics in society is leading to increased pressures which, coupled with the lack of proper nutrition and education about health play havoc with female hormones, resulting in a skewed menstrual pattern.
-- Dr Vidhi Chowdhury, Spring Meadows Hospital, New Delhi


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A pan-India survey, conducted recently by the Bangalore-based Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), highlights the alarming new phenomenon of premature menopause amongst Indian women. This is increasingly becoming a source of consternation amongst the medical community.

The data for the study - based on the 1998-99 National Family Health Survey - drew samples from 100,000 women in the age band of 15-50 years, across 26 states. The study revealed that Indian women fare abysmally with regard to their menopausal health. While the percentage of young menopausal women was the highest in Andhra Pradesh at 31.4 per cent, Bihar (21.7 per cent) and Karnataka (20.2 per cent) were no better. Kerala (11.6 per cent) was a tad better while West Bengal (12.8 per cent) and Rajasthan (13.1 per cent) were just a rung lower. Overall, the percentage of women hit by premature menopause is marginally lower in urban areas (16.1 per cent) as against rural (18.3 per cent).

According to T S Syamala of ISEC, who conducted the pan-India research, the proportion of premature menopausal Indian women plummets remarkably with a corresponding increase in education. A higher number of illiterate women experience premature menopause as against those who are educated. Among the illiterate women, a substantive 20 per cent suffers from premature menopause as against 11.1 per cent of women who hold at least a graduate degree. All of this establishes the fact that women from the lower economic strata are more vulnerable to premature menopause than their more privileged counterparts.

The findings of the ISEC survey, which were tabled in the Parliament recently, also highlight that on an average nearly four per cent of Indian women are already menopausal between the ages of 29-34 years, one of the lowest thresholds for menopause in the world. The natural age for menopausal onset is between 45 to 55 years with a mean age of 51 years, worldwide. Interestingly, women who marry and have children late have less reason to worry as they experience a delayed onset of menopause.

Apart from being an important socio-economic pointer, doctors feel the survey has confirmed their worst fears - that women's health is simply not a priority in our country. "The changing dynamics of the Indian family, the increased stress upon women to be financially independent and the whittling down of the familial support structure have all put tremendous physical, emotional and mental strain on our women," observes Dr Vidhi Chowdhury, obstetrician and gynaecologist, Spring Meadows Hospital, New Delhi. "These pressures, coupled with the lack of proper nutrition and education about health play havoc with female hormones, resulting in a skewed menstrual pattern."

Interestingly, women who marry and have children late have less reason to worry as they experience a delayed onset of menopause.